Corporate Affairs
by chocaholic123
Summary: Bella is a Management Consultant who works hard and plays harder. Edward is a Union Leader who fights for his workers' rights. She is brought in to change things at the Car Factory. He won't let her. The fight is on, attraction becomes obsession, and the lines between love and hate are blurred. BxE, AH, OOC. Rated M for eventual lemons.
1. Chapter 1

**CHAPTER 1 – Office Party**

She was sitting on droplets of water, splashed over onto the counter from the sinks. They were seeping through the thin material of her satin dress, making her thighs feel cold and clammy.

Bella held her cigarette between her right thumb and index finger, having smoked it almost down to the filter, it was getting too short to smoke any other way. Taking a last greedy drag, she threw it into the little pool of water that had accumulated in the sink beside her. It was already grey-black with the ash she had deposited in it.

She was thirteen when she tasted her first cigarette. Her mother had been recently widowed, and used the opportunity to bum around Europe, teenage daughter in tow, with the rich men that her husband had bequeathed her.

Whilst her mother entertained the crowds on the patio of the huge villa they were sharing with the Newtons, Bella and Mike Newton had nicked a packet of his mother's cigarettes, and sat in the hall, sharing a stick which they swapped after each inhalation.

When Mike asked, Bella had said that she always smoked, but the first drag had tickled her throat so much, that she had turned bright red in her efforts not to cough. Like bleeding after losing your virginity, coughing after inhaling was a sure-fire sign of a first time.

After their third shared cigarette, they started singing, a shaky version of Miss American Pie. Bella knew the words off by heart, her musical taste being rather eclectic, and Mike had joined in, knowing most of the chorus.

Bella had thought she might be falling in love with Mie, until their nicotine-fuelled high was interrupted by the piercing sound of the smoke alarm. They both jumped up, trying to find a suitable place to hide the evidence before their parents ran in and discovered their children half naked, shrouded in a smoky haze.

Her habit had continued in secret for another three years, until she had returned home from a Geography field trip, to find that her mother had redecorated her room, and discovered Bella's secret stash of Marlboros. By then, Bella had a new stepfather – Phil Dwyer, who had been cured of the dreadful deed himself by aversion therapy. Bella could still vividly remember that evening, as she sat on the sofa in between her mother and Phil, and they forced her to chain smoke an entire packet of twenty cigarettes. Apparently it had worked on Darlene in the Roseanne show.

Bella, bristling at Renee's ready compliance to Phil's schemes, had relished every smoky breath, and rather than feeling sick at the end of the packet, felt pretty high from nicotine and victory. After that, her habit was fully out in the open, much to Phil's disgust. The marriage hadn't lasted too long after that, and although Bella didn't attribute the irrevocable breakdown to her smoking habit, she liked to think she had helped it on its way.

Back in the powder room, Bella swilled her mouth out with water, and touched her lipstick up. People were filing in and out of the toilets faster than trains at Penn Station, and she felt a sudden need to get out into the party, consume tank-fuls of alcohol and enlighten everybody's evening with her inimitable wit.

She was disappointed by the lack of music as she emerged into the ballroom. Somebody had obviously decided things were getting out of hand, and it was time for the speeches. All the partners stood on the podium, looking pretty damned smug with themselves. Being a mere consultant, Bella felt the familiar feeling of envy and disgust that she always had when she saw them presiding over meetings, paying the bar bills at the end of the night or generally doing anything else which showed the rest of the workforce how successful, rich and powerful they were. Only a few more years, she thought, and I should be up there with them.

The European director was droning on about record profits, and how the firm was going from strength to strength. Clustered in front of him, on what had only moments ago been the dance floor, the employees of Grayson-Brown were looking almost as pleased with themselves. Grabbing a glass of champagne from a passing waiter, Bella swallowed a large gulp of the over-gassy liquid. Too many more of these, and she'd probably feel the urge to burp pretty loudly. Not something that the team would appreciate.

After five minutes of backslapping, the speeches ended and breathing a collective sigh of relief, everyone went back to their places, consuming alcohol and dancing with abandonment. Well, as much abandonment as you get at an Office party, which was what this was, no matter how much it masqueraded as a Company ball. No amount of Prada dresses and designer suits could make this into anything other than an occasion where people danced and drank themselves stupid, wishing that they could be at home watching TV rather than being here.

"You okay?" James Hunter whispered in her ear. James was the youngest partner, only thirty-two, and had led the team that Bella had worked in for the past few months, adding to the Company's record profits. His soft shiny hair and sharply tailored suit made him look more like an advert in a men's magazine than a management consultant. Bella knew that he cultivated this look so that he stood out at board meetings. The older partners liked to live their lives vicariously through him.

"Surviving." Bella said back, pulling her ear away from his over-eager mouth. "The champagne isn't as good as last year's"

"That's because we want to put the profits in our pockets rather than your lot's thirsty mouths."

Bella smiled. "What else are we supposed to fill our mouths with?"

"I've got a few ideas." James grabbed hold of her arm and pulled her with him through the door into the hallway. "Have you missed me?"

"I haven't been aiming at you." Humour was always the better side of valour. "And I'm hoping to get assigned to one of the more attractive partners for my next job."

James smirked but said nothing. He didn't need to when Bella's hands were doing the talking, all the way down his back. It had been this way right from the start, after the first late night working session, he had just made one move towards her and like a magnet, and she had found herself clinging to him all over. They had their second session that same night.

"How's the family?" Bella asked as she licked the remnants of champagne from his lips. The sweetness mingled with the salty taste of sweat beads on his face.

"At home." He replied, and then touched her tongue with his. "I told Victoria not to wait up."

His lips were pressing down on hers, and Bella felt his hands cupping her bottom, pulling her body into his. His hands traced the outline of her breasts through the thin black dress, making Bella's body shiver. She hated the way he made her feel, but didn't want him to stop it.

"Come on." Grabbing her hand again, he pulled her into one of the side rooms that led from the hallway. As they walked in, Bella went to switch on the light.

"Don't." James grabbed her wrist and pulled it away. "That door has glass in it, somebody might come in."

Leaving her no time to protest, James pressed his mouth against hers again, and started to push her dress up her legs.

"Careful. That cost half my bonus." She whispered, knowing that for James, money always talked.

He said nothing, just pushed it a little more gently. Then his hands were inside Bella's lacy panties. A couple of pushes, like he was turning on a washing machine, and then he pulled them out again, to fiddle with his own pants.

They stumbled into a large object in the dark. It took Bella a couple of seconds to realise that they were in the hotel storeroom, and had stumbled against a disused dressing table.

"Perfect." James lifted her up so that she was just sitting on the edge, but still accessible to his heat-seeking groin.

It was over in two minutes. Bella timed it by counting, one Mississippi, two Mississippi, three Mississippi…

"I knew you'd missed me." James was doing his trousers up as he spoke. Bella didn't need a light on to sense his smug smile. "I've needed to see you for ages."

"It's only been two weeks." Bella pulled her lighter out and attempted to light a cigarette.

"There could be a smoke alarm. Somebody could catch us." James sounded worried.

"Let them." Bella replied. "I'm sure most people must have guessed about us by now." It was the drink talking. She wasn't usually so flippant about their relationship. Actually, she admitted to herself, the very illicit nature of it was what made it so exciting. She wasn't so sure she would enjoy the aftermath of discovery.

"Have you told anyone?" He sounded alarmed now, not just worried.

"No. Not that there's too much to tell." Only that I fancy the pants off you, and wish that you didn't have a wife and two kids at home.

"Bella, you have to understand. I am torn between you and Victoria."

Bella heaved herself off the dressing table. The force of gravity made the sticky mess run down her legs, the feel of it making her want to heave.

Now that the huffing and panting had stopped, she could hear faint traces of the music coming from the ballroom. Smells Like Teen Spirit by Nirvana was in mid flow. It seemed inappropriate for a Management Consultant party.

"Who hired the DJ?" She asked James, who was smoothing down his ruffled hair. She could feel his arms moving the air back and forth in front of her face.

"I think he's related to one of the partners." Last year they had a five piece band. Obviously the champagne wasn't their only cost cutting measure.

"What else is on his playlist, American Idiot?"

James laughed, and pulled her towards him again. His arms wrapped around her body, and she could feel his chin lightly resting on the top of her head.

"Sometimes I think I love you." He said.

Bella's body went stock-still. They had never mentioned the L word before. Not even hinted at it. She wasn't a kid; she knew exactly what she had let herself in for, sleeping not only with her boss, but her married boss. Complications like love weren't part of that agenda.

"Well?" He prompted a response.

Bella swallowed. It was like a test. If she said she loved him, where would they go? He had a wife and children, and as much as she wished to keep hold of his body twenty-four hours a day, it wasn't ever going to happen. The best she could hope for was a fuck on the side.

"Well what?" Perhaps she needed some more clues.

"How do you feel about me?"

"I like you quite a lot." She smiled. Perhaps she should add that she sometimes liked him less after shitty fucks like that one. Not that sex with him was always crap, but probably sixty per cent of the time, when they were under the time constraints enforced by his job and marriage, foreplay seemed to take a back seat.

"What about love?"

If this were a film, somewhere in the background church bells would be ringing. The orchestra would be striking up a romantic interlude, and Bella would throw herself at James's feet, only just able to utter her words of devotion through heaving sobs. Needless to say, this is not a film.

"I don't know." God she needed a cigarette. "I don't think I know what love is. I had a dog once, I might have loved him. He was called Kermit, after the Muppets. Did you like that program?"

James was bemused. "I don't think so."

"Well I think I loved Kermit. When he died I burned all his things in the garden, which caused a terrible stink in the neighbourhood. Something about local laws. My mother screamed at me for bringing the family into disrepute."

James loosened his grip on her waist. Nirvana had merged into Michael Jackson. Silently Bella congratulated the DJ. He had finally hit upon the musical tastes of 99 per cent of the crowd. Michael was most definitely in.

"Would you burn my things if I died?" James was still searching for an answer.

"Only if I couldn't sell them." Bella shielded herself with flippancy.

James grabbed hold of her shoulders, gripped them tightly. Bella could just about make out the even features of his face in the darkness.

"Bella. I have to know how you feel about me. For God's sake, do you love me?"

She was hemmed in at all sides. There was no escape from such a direct question. Evasion was impossible.

"Yes I love you." It was out, but the lump in her throat remained. She wondered for a second if she was going to be sick.

James said nothing. His arms dropped to his sides, like a barrier whose initial descent is speeded by the act of gravity. The inches that lay between them seemed to be stretched in time and space.

"Thank you." James spat, and turned away from her. Bella watched him move towards the door without a word, and she felt her stomach drop a thousand feet. As he left the room, Bella knew that those words had started an inevitable slide, and if she wasn't careful, she would be buried under it. Maybe she shouldn't have lied.

Alice was one of those people that it is easy to like. Bella's friendship with her was transient, necessitated by close living quarters and the need for female companionship. They had been living together for six months, since Bella found herself answering an advertisement on Craigslist. The journey to the apartment had been pretty fraught – having lived in her Mother's vacant Seattle home for so long, the drive into suburbia seemed to signal a worrying slide into mediocrity.

Alice was from Chicago and had decided to find a roommate in order to make new friends, preferably Seattle natives. Bella's love of all things Grunge had won Alice over in an instant.

Sometimes, before she went to sleep, Bella tried to count how many close friends she had since leaving school. Five at University – all had been housemates – three previous flatmates since starting work in Seattle and now Alice. She had kept in touch with none of them. It was as if you shared so much of yourself with them, once they were gone, they were no longer part of your consciousness. Plus, having seen the way their panties had skid marks in them, and that they went to the toilet without washing their hands and then ate a sandwich, she sort of went off of them anyway.

When Bella got home that night, Alice was sitting in the lounge wearing a juicy lounge suit, licking ice cream off a wooden spoon.

"All the others were dirty." She explained when Bella glanced at her eating implement.

"How was your night?" Alice, having what seemed like an inexhaustible income, had decided to hold a dinner party at their flat. She had bought most of the ingredients from Dean and Deluca.

"All right. Denny took an e and got out of hand, so everybody took him to Twilight, to see if they could get in this time. I decided to grab an early night." An old black and white film was flickering on the television in the corner of the room. Alice had turned the sound right down. "What about you. Did you pull any nice rich boys?"

"Only the one I already had." Bella shrugged. "And then I wished I hadn't bothered."

Alice smiled. She had more than enough experience of Bella's love life, having listened to both the ups and downs over the past eight months. "So Jamie came up with the goods did he?"

"I told him that I loved him."

That got Alice's attention. "You did what?"

"He asked me. What was I supposed to say?"

Alice sighed, and threw her wooden spoon on the coffee table. "You're supposed to be the sophisticated one. You could have gotten out of it if you wanted to."

Bella smiled. Alice, with her dark crop and petite figure always appeared much more glamorous than Bella when they went out. Bella just looked like a dowdy brunette next to her.

"So what did he say?" Alice was leaning forward, eager to get the gossip.

"Nothing, he just left." Bella sat down hard on the armchair.

"Bad sign."

"But he said he loved me first." Bella protested. She was beginning to feel hot. She shrugged her coat off.

"What exactly did he say?" Alice always seemed better clued up in matters of the heart. Bella preferred figures and work – based problems. They always seemed easier to solve.

Bella frowned. "He said, 'sometimes I think I love you.'" She paused, and caught Alice's knowing glare. "Oh god, what have I done."

"What a dork." Alice had been watching too much American trash. "I can't believe you fell into his trap."

Bella had been sleeping with unsuitable men for most of her adult life. It had started as a hobby, in all those strange Villas across Europe, and now it was almost a full time occupation. Not that she slept with a different man every night – her poor thighs wouldn't take that sort of bruising, even if she had wanted to. No, she was more of a serial – unsuitable lay, shouting 'line them up boys; I'm a – getting – ready to prove ma momma right.'

The heat was beginning to feel oppressive. Bella wanted to go and sit under a cold shower for an hour. Maybe after that, things wouldn't seem so bad.

"What are you going to do?" Alice had resumed consumption of her ice cream. It was Ben and Jerry's vanilla. Bella wondered why somebody would fork out so much for ice cream, and then buy vanilla flavour. You could get a litre tub for about fifty cents at Wal-Mart...

"Kill myself." Bella groaned. She had thirty two hours before work on Monday. How was she going to get through them?

"You could always dob off next week. I'm going to Florida, why don't you come too?" Alice was always wandering off around the country at the slightest whim. Her jobs seemed to come and go faster than James on a good day. Her income always remained steady. Bella presumed it was family money.

"I can't." Bella moaned. "I have to face the music."

"Stiff upper lip and all that." Alice smiled. "I love you Seattle Natives, so sado-masochistic."

"I'm just realistic. I have to go to work, so I might as well get it over with on Monday." Maybe she was worrying unnecessarily. After all, James hadn't said anything actually negative. He just hadn't said anything at all. She was getting things all out of proportion – it was Alice's fault, she was too much of a drama queen. Saturdays were always bad for Alice, no soap operas on at all. She had to entertain herself with something and what better than Bella's love life?

Bella grabbed hold of the remote control and turned the volume up. Cary Grant was romancing Deborah Kerr on a windswept boat. She tried to imagine herself and James in the same situation, both attached, but unable to disregard their attraction for each other. James would probably fuck her stupid and stand her up at the Empire State Building. He hated queuing for anything, especially just to get to the top of a building. It wasn't even the world's tallest or anything.

When they were working on the last project, they had to fly out to Paris for a meeting. They stayed overnight in a seedy little Hotel on the Rive Gauche. James had refused to stay in any of the hotel chains. He reckoned that such transactions can be tracked – and if Victoria or even worse, any of the partners, found out about Bella and James, both their careers would be over. So Bella had lain with James on dirty crumpled sheets, staring up at the flaking paint on the ceiling, trying to remind herself that it was the most romantic city in the world. She was glad she had brought George Orwell's 'Down and Out in Paris and London' with her to read.

"Do you actually like James?" Alice had finished the entire tub of ice cream. She was obviously looking for another sport.

"Yes." Bella was immediately defensive. "But most of all I lust after him. It's one of those physical attraction things. No matter how much of a bastard he is to me, I still want him."

"That's pretty miserable." As far as Bella could tell, Alice had about six irregular boyfriends. Somehow she managed to juggle them so that only one was in Seattle at any one time.

"Sometimes I don't like him. But I'm almost twenty seven. I'd hate to think that I'm wasting my life on a total loser."

"Then forget about him." Alice stood up, leaving the empty tub and spoon on the coffee table. "You're a pretty girl, Bella. You could get somebody tomorrow if you wanted to. He's never going to leave his wife."

"I don't want him to." Bella protested.

"Of course you do. You've just been conditioned to think you don't. You're making things too easy on him. He's got you trained like a dancing poodle."

"Where did you hear that expression from?" Alice was always coming out with new expressions, like she was trying them for taste.

"Eric." Alice's boyfriend. Except he lived in Bahrain for eight months of the year. He had asked Alice to go with him, but she refused. There was no way she was going to wear a Yashmak, or whatever it was they wore over there. Anyway, she had told Bella, he was a great four month fuck, but a twelve month fuck would be boring. How else would she fit in the others?

"Good night then." Bella said, turning to watch the television. Deborah Kerr was on her way to the Empire State. Bella wanted to shout at her, "don't go you stupid bitch. You're letting yourself in for a lot of heart ache. So what if Cary Grant comes for you in the end. You're going to be maimed."


	2. Chapter 2

**CHAPTER 2 - Endings and Beginnings  
**

If she angled the mirror just right, tipped her head to one side and squinted so that she could only see a dim outline of her body in the mirror, Bella's body looked quite svelte. If only she lived in a world full of half-blind men with deformed necks, life would be so much easier. Instead, her world was populated by assholes like James Hunter, who went off her as soon as her waistline expanded by a millionth of an inch.

Not that her waistline had expanded that much since she had become involved with James. An inch was probably more like it. But then, her weight had always been the best barometer of the state of her love life. When she was single she tended to live off cigarettes, coffee and frozen diet meals – and her weight plummeted to a hundred and ten pounds. Then, looking gorgeous and thin, she would meet some man and end up in a relationship – being taken out for meals, or having cosy nights in with fattening takeaways meant her weight crept up. Finally, when the relationship went totally pear – shaped so did she, due to misery chocolate binges as she stayed in waiting for the phone to ring.

Sighing wearily, she turned resolutely away from the mirror and reached for her first cigarette of the morning. She usually waited until she had at least got dressed and made some coffee, but today required desperate action. After all, if she could raise her blood pressure enough – her calorie requirements would increase and the weight was bound to drop off her.

"Bella, are you nearly ready?" Alice yelled at her from the kitchen. Bella looked at her watch in alarm, and saw that it was already 8.30 am. She was meant to be at work by nine fifteen – James had sent her an email yesterday organizing a meeting. She held out little hope that it was his way of getting some time alone with her – nobody arranges a love tryst by e-mail, unless they're Bridget Jones.

"I'm nearly there." She shouted back. Yanking open her wardrobe she grabbed the Theory suit she had bought last month – she had been saving it for an occasion like this. At least if James wanted to break it off with her, the way she looked may make him feel a modicum of regret. That was all she wanted - that and to be able to walk out of the relationship with some dignity.

Five minutes later she ran out of the bedroom, clutching her briefcase in one hand and her make up bag in the other - she would just have to put it on in the car. Alice, seeing her run in to the kitchen, stood up and handed her a coffee in a travel mug. Not for the first time, Bella wondered why she couldn't find a man who was so perfectly attuned to her needs as Alice was.

"You okay?" Alice asked her as they ran down the steps that led from their first floor apartment to the front door.

"I'm as good as I'm going to get." Bella muttered, running her fingers through her wavy brown hair, trying to get it to do something other than hang limply around her face.

"What time are you seeing him?"

"Nine fifteen. Just enough time to work myself into a complete frenzy."

As they walked to Bella's car, Alice gave her hand a quick squeeze before she turned and started to walk towards her own sporty yellow Porsche.

"I'll see you tonight yeah?" Alice shouted at her, "We'll go and get trashed at Jacoby's"

Bella tried her best to smile at her friend, despite the ever-increasing sick feeling in her stomach, and nodded in agreement. Jacoby's was one of their favorite stomping grounds, close enough to the apartment to be able to get mind numbingly drunk, and still manage to stagger home. Not having to hang around for an elusive taxi on a Friday night was its biggest advantage.

Still, tonight was twelve hours away, and before then she had to face James and what she suspected was his final brush – off.

Grayson – Brown – Bella's employers – had their headquarters just outside the Central Business District, on Pike Street. An imposing white-stuccoed building, it had been built a hundred years previously, for a firm of Merchant Bankers who had long since gone bankrupt. Grayson – Brown were Management Consultants – and had weathered the stormy markets of the early nineteen nineties to become the second largest Management Consultancy in Seattle.

By the time she was in the office, most people had already arrived. Her ears buzzed to the sounds of ringing phones, bubbling coffee machines and cries of 'you'd never believe the hangover I've got'. Bella loved the atmosphere in the office – especially on a Friday morning, when you knew the weekend was just hours away.

"Bella!" Someone shouted from across the open plan office. "James wants to see you straight away. He said you're late."

Bella looked up and saw Angela, the office administrator who tried (and seldom succeeded) to keep some sort of order amongst the consultants.

"Can I get a coffee first?" She shouted back. To her ears, her voice sounded slightly shrill, and she hoped that nobody else had noticed.

Angela shrugged in reply.

Grabbing a plastic cup from the dispenser, Bella picked up the full jug of coffee from the warming tray. She always thought it was a good perk having free tea and coffee at Graysons. She managed to pour the coffee out and gulp it down in about five seconds, feeling the hot thick liquid scald her tongue and throat before it made its way down to her gurgling stomach.

She always appreciated Caffeine Courage (second only to Dutch) before having to face a break up. It was certainly the first time anyone had ever tried to break up with her at nine fifteen on a Friday morning. Usually, she would have Alice's shoulder to cry on, but today she would have to try and remain professional for eight hours at least before she could start crying like a baby.

Gulping in as much air as she could, Bella pushed open James's frosted glass fronted door, and allowed her mouth to curl up into a welcoming smile as she saw James sat down in his leather chair, feet up on the table, drinking a glass of Evian.

"Hi." Not the most inspiring of conversation openers, but Bella felt it was passable.

"Bella, come on in." James boomed in his 'I know everybody's listening outside' voice. "Shut the door behind you."

Doing as she instructed, Bella glanced through the gap in the door as she shut it, to see Angela giving her the thumbs up sign.

Without being asked, she sat down on the plastic chair on the opposite side of the desk to James. Silently, she willed him to get on with it, to get it over with so that she could get out of his office as quickly as possible.

"How are you?" He asked in a more gentle voice.

"Fine."

"Good, good." He smiled at her, then looked down at a thick bunch of papers he had in front of him. "I hear that you finished off the Jefferson account well."

"They seemed pretty pleased with it." She had been working with Jeffersons – a Wine importer – for the last three months on re-engineering their transport processes.

"John Jefferson called me personally to thank you for your input. He seemed very impressed."

"That's nice." She was totally uninterested in what John Jefferson had to say. She wanted to know what James Hunter thought, whether he still was impressed with her or not.

"I've been talking with the other partners about what we should put you on next, and one of the directors has come up with an excellent project for you – I think this one should be a good learning experience." He looked at Bella expectantly, waiting for her to ask him for some more information.

Bella didn't reply, just raised one inquiring eyebrow. She was getting sick of this boss – employee act. He hadn't seemed like much of a boss last Sunday afternoon when he made love to her on her bedroom floor. Although, come to that, he hadn't seemed much like a boyfriend either, when he stood up the moment it was over, pulled his pants up and kissed her perfunctorily on the cheek before making an escape to pick his son up from his Sunday Football game.

"The Detroit Motor Company wants you to go into one of their factories and do a complete inventory of all their processes and procedures, and make recommendations for change." Detroit Motor Co. was one of the top 3 Motor Manufacturers in the World. Bella was surprised as usually they relied upon their own internal consultants.

"There's only one catch." James hesitated slightly before being able to continue, and failed to look her in the eye. "You'll have to relocate to Michigan for six months."

That woke Bella up. She stared at him hard, until he had to meet her gaze.

"What do you mean I HAVE to relocate?" She asked him in a slow measured tone.

"They want you on site six days a week. There's no way you could commute to Michigan."

"I can't believe this…" Bella shouted at him, stand up off the chair so quickly that it fell backwards, clattering to the floor. "I knew that you wanted to get rid of me, but this is so underhand that you've outdone yourself this time."

James ran around the desk when she started shouting, and placed what he thought was a calming hand on her shoulder.

Bella could feel her stomach start to churn up all the coffee she had downed ten minutes earlier. She tried to swallow – she felt like she was in danger of throwing up. She turned to look at James, and said one word, "Why?"

"Because I can't cope with working this close to you." He said simply. "It's endangering my marriage – and there's no way I'll let that happen."

"So why do I have to leave?" She ranted "You're the one with the problem – why don't you go to Michigan?"

"Oh for God's sake grow up." James finally snapped. "You know that's never going to happen. I'm a partner and my place is here. You're a consultant – your job is to go where the work is. You'll find it better all round."

Looking at his familiar features, and sitting in the same office that they had come back to after an evening in a restaurant on countless occasions, Bella felt a bizarre feeling of both love and hate for him. She felt like she wanted to put her hands around his neck and strangle him, whilst tearing his clothes off and pushing him down on to the floor and fuck him senseless.

"I don't like this any more than you do." James told her, "But it's the only solution that I can see at the moment. Every time I look at you I want to have sex with you, but if I'm to retain even a fraction of professional integrity, I have to stop that right now.

"Then we'll stop." Bella suggested, hating the wheedling nasal tone that her voice was making. "Right now, we'll stop and never do it again."

"You know that's not going to happen." He smiled wryly at her. "Not unless there's a distance larger than ten meters between us" he gestured at her cubicle over the other side of the open plan office. "I just can't stop it unless you do what's best for both of us, and put some distance between us for a while."

Bella felt her shoulders drooping down. She felt drained – all argued out. There was nothing left for her to say to him, and to a certain extent she agreed with what he said. But why her and why Michigan?

"Let me think about it." She said, feeling defeated.

James, sensing a win, gave her one of his dazzling smiles, and took her into his arms. Feeling his Armani clad arms folding around her body, Bella closed her eyes and rested her head against his shoulders, breathing in his body scent as her lips touched his neck.

"Why don't we go out at lunch time and talk about it?" James suggested. "I'm tied up in meetings until then, but I can give you more information about the job.

She shrugged, trying to feign indifference, but failing. "Yes please!" She said, hoping that it was more than a business lunch he was suggesting.

Using his right index finger to tip her chin up and make her face him, James leaned forward and softly brushed his lips across hers. "Strictly business, okay?" He said, the bulge in his suit trousers saying otherwise.

Feeling that she had taken back the upper hand, Bella started to walk out of the office, then turned back to him and smiled sexily.

"Whatever you say."

Later that morning, Bella was sitting at her desk, holding her phone between her ear and her shoulder as she attempted to reply to a dozen emails ath the same time.

"Don't you dare have sex with him" Alice was shouting down the phone at Bella, who looked up hastily to see if anyone had overheard.

"All right, just calm down will you?" Bella whispered into the receiver, half wishing that she hadn't phoned Alice in the first place.

"I _am_ calm. I just know what he's like, and more importantly, what you're like." Alice sighed down the phone. "Promise me you won't do anything stupid."

"It's under control." Bella promised, picking up her black pen and doodling all over today's entry in her diary. "You shouldn't worry so much."

Alice, sensing that she had got as far as she was going to along this line, decided to change the subject. "So are you really going to Michigan?" She asked.

"Probably." Bella replied without even thinking. "Well maybe." She thought again, then wondered what the hell else there was to do. "No, almost certainly."

"You don't sound very sure."

"Well I'm not sure. I've lived in Seattle since I graduated. I don't know anybody in Michigan, apart from the cast of Weeds." Not even allowing herself to fantasize about meeting Hunter Parrish in a dark alleyway, she continued; "In some ways it sounds quite exciting. But what if I end up staying in every night, with only a bottle of Chardonnay and Grey's Anatomy for Company?"

"Sounds like bliss…" Alice sighed, her breath whooshing down the receiver into Bella's ear. "Anyway, you'd never stay in for more than one night. Even if you ended up paying for an escort."

"I don't think so!" Bella protested. "Just because I may be vacating the apartment for a while, it doesn't give you Carte Blanche to make fun of me you know." Looking up from her doodles, Bella glanced at the clock and saw that it was nearly half past eleven. Only half an hour to tart herself up before she was meeting James at the restaurant.

"Listen Alice, I've got to go. I'll see you tonight yeah?"

"All right," Alice said warily, "but just remember what I said."

Having put most of the contents of her makeup bag on to her face, Bella fluffed her hair up and grabbed her jacket from the back of her chair. Thank God she'd decided to wear the Theory suit today. Usually on a Friday she put her tattiest Banana Republic suit on, because she was bound to get drunk in it that evening, and leave it on the floor to get crumpled and dusty. If she was lucky enough, the Theory suit may even get crumpled at lunchtime.

Walking out of the lobby into the crisp September air, she took a deep breath of the fresh air into her expanding lungs. Three hours in the air conditioned hell of the office took its toll on her body and her skin – although at least she had remembered to put on Clinique's 'Moisture on Call' this morning, to combat the flaky skin the air conditioning always caused in between her eyebrows.

Crush was just five minutes down the street, and with her long stride, Bella reached it in no time. Before she walked in, she glanced inside through the tinted glass, and saw James sitting over in the corner – probably to avoid being seen by too many colleagues. She pushed the door open and walked over to him.

"Hey baby," he said, standing up to push her chair out for her. That was one thing she could say for him – he was always the perfect gentleman in public.

"Hello." She decided to adopt the enigmatic approach – say very little, and it will make them want you more.

"Would you like a drink?" The waiter came up behind her, taking her jacket and her order at the same time.

"Spritzer please. Make it dry."

"And I'll have another whiskey." James said.

Bella sat down, smoothing the wrinkles out of her short skirt. She noticed James's eyes glancing down at her exposed thighs.

"So, are you okay?" He asked her, his voice sounding slightly strangled.

"I'm fine."

"What have you been up to?" He tried again to make conversation.

"Oh you know, the usual." Bella shrugged her shoulders. She was quite enjoying herself. Being an enigma was an unusual experience for her.

"Have you missed me?" He tried a different tack.

Bella burst out laughing. She couldn't help herself. "Not in the last two and a half hours." She smiled at him. "I've been busy."

He looked hurt. "I'm just trying to make conversation for God's sake."

"Well try harder then." Now she sounded petulant. That wasn't very enigmatic.

She looked up into his dark brown eyes. She felt a pang of pain in her stomach, like somebody was scraping the skin off of the inside of her guts. He always managed to make her feel this way, if she let her guard down.

James leaned across the table and grabbed her hand.

"You know I feel sick about this Michigan business don't you?" He said, stroking her wrist with his thumb. Bella felt her body begin to tingle.

"Do you?" She whispered, feeling all attempts at indifference melt out of her body. How could she even pretend to feel nothing for him, when all he had to do was touch her wrist with one finger to turn her on?

"Of course I do. If there was an easier way, I'd take it. But I can't see another way out – Victoria is beginning to get suspicious, not to mention the Partners at Graysons."

"So your wife's putting pressure on you?" The fog in her mind was beginning to clear. James was just trying to protect his charmed lifestyle. She pulled her hand away from his grasp.

"It's not like that." He snapped angrily. "You know what it would do to both our careers' if anyone found out about us. We've just got to cool it for a while."

"Look, you don't need to convince me you know." Bella snapped back at him. "I've already decided to go. I've got some old friends up there who've promised to show me a good time." A small lie, but at least it would show him she had more to live for than the snatched moments they spent together.

"Oh!" He was surprised. He had clearly anticipated a long argument to get her to go. "Well, that's good then."

Bella leaned back on her chair, wondering whether she had done the right thing. Not that she had really had much choice – James was clearly determined to put three hundred miles between them. She took a gulp of her spritzer and looked around the room to see if she recognized anyone else there.

Over in the corner was a group from the second floor – she didn't know any of them but often saw them getting in the lifts in the morning. They were the only people she recognized, although the place was bursting with suits – mostly under thirty five, with loud voices and wallets bulging with twenty dollar notes. Perhaps Michigan would make a nice change, she thought.

"You'll find Detroit Motors an interesting challenge." James said, adopting his 'boss' tone with her again. It was clear that any pleasantries were over. "I worked with them a couple of years ago on re-engineering their HR function. They're an old style Company – the Union is still pretty strong, and they're finding it tough to face up to the realities of the modern market." Bella shut her eyes, listening to the rhythm of James's voice, not really hearing his words. She imagined that he was saying he loved her, couldn't live without her.

"… twelve months. Have you done anything like that before?" He finished. Bella's eyes flew open, and she looked at him questioningly.

"Like what?" She asked.

"Worked in a unionized environment?"

"Well, I did that Construction project when I first joined Graysons." She said. "And I did have some input into last year's UAW conference."

For some reason James found that amusing. "Ah yes, but have you ever worked in an environment where the union situation colored every process and meeting, and you couldn't make the simplest decision without consulting them?" It sounded more like a direct challenge than a question, but there was no point in lying when James knew her CV as well as she did.

"No." Petulant again – she must watch that.

"Then it _will_ be a good learning experience." James sounded smug, almost as if _he_ was doing _her_ a favor by sending her across the country. Bella smiled sweetly, and rather than listening to him, tried to find five good reasons to go to Michigan.

Home Improvement. That was one of her favorite TV shows when she was a kid, and she'd be able to see if things were really that parochial in Michigan. That made one thing. Now, what was next – the Great Lakes! Some of the most beautiful features in the country. This was easy. Now what was number three? Well, there were the Redwings – which meant some sexy Hockey players to watch at the weekends. Plus there had to be some sort of Football team which made four, definitely. So what was the fifth good reason? She racked her brains for a couple of minutes but failed to find one. And she was doing so well.

"Are you listening to me?" James glared at her, as if she had missed some important words of wisdom.

"Not really." She smiled quickly at him. "Actually, I said I'd meet some friends at twelve thirty, so I can't hang around here all day." She stood up and smiled at their waiter, who ran over with her jacket. "Don't think it hasn't been entertaining." She said to James, as she pulled her jacket over her arms.

"Are you going?" He asked, then grimaced, realizing what a stupid question it was.

Bella raised one eyebrow at him – a great trick that she saved for special occasions.

"Well, I don't think there is anything else to say." She leaned down and kissed his cheek, leaving a smudge of red lipstick there. "I'll see you later." And she flounced out of the bar with a triumphant smile on her face. Alice would be so proud of her!

* * *

Author's Note: This Chapter marks the end of Bella's time in Seattle. In the next chapter she will be in Michigan, and will have her first glimpse of Edward.


	3. Chapter 3

**CHAPTER 3 - Strangers in the Night  
**

The bar was crowded and noisy, the number of bodies crammed into one small place raising the temperature to a level that was slightly above bearable. Bella was wearing a pair of tight jeans and a slinky off the shoulder top, bought for her by Alice as a going away present. She really wasn't sure what she was doing there; she had arrived at her Hotel in Dearborn at seven pm, and by seven thirty she was already bored with her room. She had unpacked her clothes, hung them in the standard issue hotel wardrobe and then proceeded to drink 3 bottles of varying types of alcohol from her mini bar. Her body was buzzing, yet she felt empty – she couldn't remember the last time she had stayed in on a Saturday night.

Forty five minutes later, after a recommendation from the Concierge, she had found herself propping up the bar of The Venue, a slightly jaded bar with decor that had seen better days - perhaps in the 1980s. She was on her third shot of Patrone when she sensed rather than observed somebody sitting down next to her. Banging the glass on the bar, she looked down and sighed deeply at the sight of the guy sitting next to her, invading her personal space.

"Do you want me to raise my bitch brow, or are you going to back off?" She sneered, before raising her gaze to look at his face.

Then she took a deep breath or two, or however many it took to make her heart start beating again. Staring right back at her were the most soulful green eyes she had ever seen. They looked like they could see right through her, past her pretensions and carefully built up walls and deep inside to the scared little girl inside. She wasn't sure he was going to like what he saw.

"Just sitting at a bar drinking my beer'. He muttered, moving his gaze from her and to the bar tender, raising up his empty bottle and wiggling it – the universal sign for 'get me another'.

"You're pretty close to sitting on my lap drinking your beer." Bella retorted, wishing he'd look back at her. She'd give anything to see that eye color again. Surely he must be wearing contacts? Whilst he averted his gaze, she contented herself with a brief stock-take of the rest of him. Gorgeous red-brown hair – check. Smooth, flawless almost luminous skin – check. Sinewy muscled chest covered in a tight black t shirt – check.

She shook her head gently, wondering why she was such an idiot. She was almost salivating – it was embarrassing. She told herself to stop looking at him like he was something to eat. The music was still pumping out of the speakers on either side of the bar, and she tried to concentrate on the sound of the Foo Fighters rather than ogling the gorgeous man beside her.

"Did you want me to sit in your lap?" He replied pointedly, making Bella take in a fresh gasp of air. He was getting dangerously close to guessing exactly what it was that she did want. Although she preferred to be the one doing the lap sitting, rather than receiving.

"No, but you can buy me a drink." She grinned at him, as he turned his head to meet her gaze. "That will make me accept your apology."

"I didn't apologize" He smiled back, at her, giving her a glimpse of what looked like the most perfect set of white teeth she had ever seen. They looked so clean and bright she wanted to lick them. Instead she decided to be childish, and mumbled something under her breath.

Her companion leaned in, brow slightly creased as he tried and failed to hear what she said. "I'm Sorry?" he asked, indicating he hadn't heard her.

"Apology accepted." Bella smirked, feeling like she had won. "And mine's a shot of tequila. Patron, definitely not Jose Cuervo."

The bartender poured her another shot. Raising her glass at the gorgeous specimen beside her, she raised it to her lips, threw her head back and swallowed the cool liquid in one smooth gulp. Banging the glass back on the bar, she turned to the stranger and smiled again. "Thank you."

"You're welcome" She could see his eyes scanning her body, lingering on her breasts for longer than it was polite to. His checking her out made her feel wet between her thighs. "I haven't seen you here before." He continued, taking a quick swig of his beer.

"I'm new in town." She shrugged, wishing her heartbeat would slow down and get under control. Luckily it was dark enough in the bar that he wouldn't be able to see her blush. She couldn't remember the last time that she had had such an instant reaction to a man – James certainly never made her feel like this. Her skin was tingling, it felt like every pore on her body was raised in goose bumps. She had to sit on her hands to physically stop herself from trying to touch his face, his skin, that gorgeous hair.

"I won't ask what you're doing here. Nobody moves here voluntarily". The left side of his mouth pulled up into a crooked grin. God he had gorgeous lips, she wanted to run her tongue across them, taste his skin, push it in his mouth whilst she rubbed her body against his.

"Stop it." She muttered to herself, widening her eyes when she realized she had said it out loud. His eyebrows frowned slightly, indicating a lack of understanding. It didn't help alleviate her need to touch him – now she wanted to smooth the deep vertical frown lines in between his eyebrows. "Sorry," she smiled, hoping he didn't think she was some kind of fool, "just talking to myself." She could feel the Patron working its magic too well. She felt light headed, almost dizzy. She wasn't sure if it was the effect of the alcohol, the proximity of this man, or a fatal combination of the two. Either way it was dangerous, and potentially harmful to her health.

He was still smiling at her as he leaned towards her, reaching his hand out to smooth her hair back behind her ear. Her pulse sped even faster, her heart was beating against her chest like a child on a moon-bounce. He was so close she could feel his breath softly fluttering against her hot skin, could smell his glorious essence.

And then he kissed her.

Lips, soft, moist, moving slowly against hers. His hands gently holding the back of his head. His tongue softly touching her lower lip, begging for entrance as her mouth opened to receive. She felt a flood of moistness in her pussy, tried to stop herself from squirming to get some relief from the neediness he inspired. Her hands grabbed onto his hair, his soft, smooth, thick hair, touching the skin at the back of his neck. It didn't feel like just a kiss. It was more, much more than an embrace, it was like she was fulfilling an elemental need, as easy and as necessary as breathing.

God she sounded sappy. She hoped it was the alcohol talking, because she couldn't believe her instant reaction and arousal to this man. She didn't even know his name, he hadn't asked for hers. He was just taking what was his: gentle lips moving from her mouth, along her cheek until they softly nipped at the sensitive skin on her neck. Her body was on fire, her nipples pebbled, begging to be touched. Somehow, in the heat of the moment, her body had moved onto his, she was straddling his lap on the bar stool, creating delicious friction exactly where her body wanted it. Her clit, through the denim of their jeans, rubbed against his erection, sending shockwaves of pleasure up her body. She groaned involuntarily, a deep, whorish breathy moan which made her smile at the embarrassingly obvious way she was reacting.

She could feel him smile as his lips carried on their attack of her neck. His hands moved in feather–like touches down from her hair to her shoulders, then brushed against the sides of her breasts, so close to where she needed them, but far enough away to frustrate her. She needed him now: all of him. She wanted him to complete her, in an embarrassingly sappy yet sexy Jerry Maguire type of way.

Then the bubble burst.

The barman cleared his throat loudly, causing them both to whip their heads up at the same time to look at him.

"You guys need to tone down the show" he gestured at the room beyond them, and to Bella's mortification she could see that the majority of the people in the bar had turned to watch her get it on with a stranger. She wasn't sure whether to laugh or cry.

"Well, fuck." He laughed as he caught her eye again. She could feel that he was still rock hard beneath her, despite the voyeurs beyond. Gently, he lifted her up and tenderly placed her back on her bar stool. Her body was screaming in protest, wanting to be back in the warm, exciting arms of this god next to her. Their eyes met, and she could tell that he felt exactly the same. He opened his beautiful, sensuous mouth to speak, but his voice was drowned out by a loud tinny blast of Panic at the Disco. His phone was ringing.

Letting go of her, he reached into his tight denim pocket to pull his phone out. Seeing the name on the display, his beautiful face was marred by a scowl, as he shouted at her over the music, "I'm sorry, I've got to take this.". He lifted the phone to his ear, and placed his other hand over his other ear to lessen the impact of the bar noise as he tried to listen. His answers were monosyllabic, terse, but she could see that whoever it was on the other end of the line was irritating him, making him angry. He ended the brief conversation, shoved his phone back in his pocket and stood up, moving closer to her again, running his thumb over her lips, her cheekbones, leaning in for a soft brush of his lips against hers.

"I have to go." He murmured as his lips pressed against her skin. "I'm so sorry."

Her heart dropped at his words. His mood swings were giving her whiplash, but that didn't mean she wanted him to leave. She looked into his deep green eyes, and was pleased to see regret reflecting back at her. He didn't want to leave her either.

"This isn't over." He was kissing her firmly now, reigniting the spark between her legs, consuming her once again in need. "Can you be here this time next week? I need to see you again."

Bella nodded her head. She was too consumed in emotion to be able to say anything coherently. She desperately wanted to see him again. She HAD to feel his lips against hers again as she rubbed her body all along his taut skin. But how could she wait a week – surely she'd shrivel up and die before then? She managed to whisper out a rough "okay."

And then he left. The man who hadn't told her his name, or asked for hers. He didn't even have her phone number. Maybe he was arrogant enough to think that she would be a sure thing next week. Even worse, Bella had to reluctantly admit to herself that he was probably right.

* * *

The September rain was falling against the window pane, making drumming noises in tune to the throbbing in her head. The weather was providing a perfect backdrop for her mood today, melancholic and miserable. Bella shivered and pulled her jacket tightly around her chest – it was true what they said, it really was cold in Michigan.

As she sat in the anteroom, memories of the previous night came flooding back. She had definitely been drunk, but her skin couldn't shake off the tingly feeling that he gave her as he kissed her and ran his hands down her body. She licked her lips, remembering the feeling of his lips brushing against hers, gently at first and then firmer, as if he realized she was his for the taking. As she thought about how her tongue felt as it brushed against hers, Bella found herself crossing her legs as the familiar feeling of need consumed her.

The Secretary at the other end of the office put her phone down and gave what looked like a smile to Bella – although it could have been a grimace. Bella's vision was on a par with her overall feeling of health this morning.

"Miss Swan. Mr Volturi will see you now. Would you like a cup of coffee?" She gestured to the machine on the table behind her desk.

"Yes please – if that's okay." Bella said, hoping that a caffeine injection may help to ease the pain of her hangover.

"I'll bring it in a moment."

Bella walked through the connecting door to Mr Volturi's office. The door, like the wood paneling in the office was made of solid walnut. The carpet was a green felt color, and the office furniture had clearly seen better days.

On the left-hand side of the room, next to a picture window, sat Aro Volturi. Bella guessed he was around fifty – although she could never tell with men as easily as women. He had silver grey hair brushed back from his face, and cut short at the back. He wasn't dressed quite as she expected him to be. Rather than wearing an expensive Suit, he had a pair of cream canvas trousers and a blue and white checked short sleeved shirt on.

"Come on in." He stood up to greet her, holding his hand out for her to shake. Bella smiled at his stereotyped Michigan accent – all Midwest, and not a hint of Southern drawl. "I'm glad you could make it Bella."

"I'm pleased to be here." She sat on the chair opposite his, smiled at him again. "It was good of you to take some time out to meet me. I can guess how busy you must be."

"To be truthful, Bella, I really have little choice in the matter." Aro continued, "This place is in such a state, that unless I get someone to help me sort it out, I'll have more time than I know how to spend – and so will the rest of the five thousand workers here."

"So what are the main issues?" Down to business, Bella grabbed her leather folder, complete with pad and pen. She could look like she was being professional, even if she didn't feel very professional with a rotten hangover and a pounding headache.

"Where do you want me to start?" There's so many things shit with this place, that it would take me weeks just to tell you. That's why I wanted you here – to see the problems first hand. I want you to wander everywhere, go in every meeting you can, spend time on the factory floor and then come back to me with your findings."

"Isn't there anything specific you want me to target?" She suggested, feeling slightly out of her depth. "It's just that normally I look at specific problems or processes. I'm not sure how useful you'll find a total overview – it may be too lightweight to be any use."

"That's the whole point." Aro boomed at her, making her shrink back in her seat in response. "There isn't any one thing that is wrong with this place. I want you to look at everything, tell me what you think is wrong, and then come back with suggestions."

Bella nodded her head slowly; she was beginning to understand the extent of her new assignment. "Okay." She paused, chewing the lid of her pen. "I can do that, but I will need to have total access. I don't want there to be anything that I'm not part of."

"That's agreed. I'll direct my people to give you freedom. We've got an Operations Meeting later today; I'll introduce you to them then." He got up from his chair and led Bella to the door. "In the meantime, I'll ask my secretary to show you to your office, and you can get settled in. I'll be in and out for most of this morning, but if you've got any questions, just grab me." And with that, Bella found herself back in the Ante Room again.

Her office, it turned out, had been recently vacated – and in an extremely hurried fashion if the contents of the drawer were anything to go by. The top drawer housed copious amounts of food – from the over optimistic pack of powdered diet soup to the more realistic packet of Oreo cookies (which was only half full). Clearly, whoever had been here before her had the same food hang-ups as Bella – and also preferred chocolate biscuits since the packet was half empty; the soup on the other hand was still firmly covered in see through plastic.

Using a black bin liner that Aro's secretary had so thoughtfully passed to her as she walked into her office, Bella proceeded to empty the drawers and filing cabinets of the paper and artifacts inside them. Being one of the nosiest people around, she found it hard to concentrate on the task in hand and spent most of the morning reading disciplinary reports dating back to 1973, and other information which gave her a better idea of the history of the factory than a month talking to Aro would.

Built in 1953, Fairhaven was Detroit Motors' third factory in the Michigan, and symbolized the post war era of economic success. From the start, it appeared that the Unions had held the upper hand and despite the demise of 'full employment' as an economic aim, and countless recessions and Union laws, they remained almost as powerful today. The most recent piece of paper in the filing cabinet referred to a Management – Union meeting held a month previously, where the Unions had demanded an extra hour a week off for their members – in return for allowing the lunch hour to be changed from 12 – 12.30 to 12.15 – 12.45. Even more risibly, the management had agreed to it. No wonder the factory was in such difficulties, if they had to give extra leave every time they wanted to make the slightest change.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?" A shrill voice startled Bella, who dropped the piece of paper she had been holding. She looked up, to see a tall, largely built woman clad in a shiny blue suit bearing down on her, looking enraged.

"I'm sorry?" Bella said, in a 'what the hell are you talking about' kind of way.

"Don't try and fucking apologize to me." The woman shouted again. "Do you know what you've done? Have you any idea of the consequences of your actions?"

"Who the hell are you?" Bella shouted back, getting pissed off at this screaming banshee, abusing her in her own office. The woman shook her honey blonde hair (held back, rather predictably, by a tortoiseshell clip.)

"This is my office. Or it was, until last week." She gestured at the 3 trash bags stuffed with papers. "And those are extremely important to the running of this factory."

"If they're that important, why haven't you moved them before?"

"Don't try and patronize me. Just because you're getting paid obscene amounts of money to try and tell me how to do my job, it certainly doesn't make you better than me." With that, the unknown woman bent down and started looking through the black trash bag nearest her. "I can't believe that you've done this." She gave a short laugh. "You have absolutely no idea have you? I told Aro you'd be a waste of money."

Bella stood aghast, staring at the woman who seemed to be delighting at abusing her. Bella wasn't even sure what she had done wrong, unless the woman had been chucked out of her office to make room for Bella. She could understand how someone may be slightly pissed off at that.

Trying to be conciliatory, Bella held out her hand; "Bella Swan. I'm sorry; I don't know your name."

"Of course you don't know my name." The woman shouted back, shrugging off Bella's attempts to shake her hand. "Why would you bother to find anything out about me? After all, Human Resources aren't important in the running of a factory are they?" Another derisive snort cut across the frosty air. "My name, since you ask, is Tanya Denali. I am Human Resources Manager for Fairhaven, and this used to be my office."

"Oh, I see." Bella couldn't see the point in declaring all-out war on the HR Manager. At least, not on her first day. "I'm pleased to meet you."

"I bet you are. I expect you've been looking forward to usurping me all week." Tanya smoothed down the polyester material on her blue skirt. "No doubt you've been snooping around, trying to find out more about me. Well, you'll find that I do everything to the book."

"I'm sure you do. And that's not why I am here." Bella thanked God for the Counseling Course she had attended last year. "I'm not an HR Expert like you are, so I'm sure I'll learn a lot from you. What I am actually here to do is look at the overall running of the factory – mostly shop floor processes and things. Human Resources is only going to be a small part of it."

"Well dear," Tanya became patronizing again, "unlike many of the factories you've probably come across, HR IS very important here. We have a strong Union, you see, and my job is to keep them under control." With that, she grabbed one of the bags and flung it over her shoulder. "I'll send someone along to collect the rest of these things. Please try not to touch anything until then, it is SO annoying to have to tidy up after people who have no idea of the importance of my documents."

As she left, Bella had to physically restrain herself from flipping Tanya Denali the bird. In her line of work, Bella often came across people who were wary of her, fearing that her reports would show them up to be lacking in their own area of expertise. But Tanya Denali was different to them, it seemed more personal than that. Bella wondered why she hadn't cleared out her office before – perhaps she had been waiting for a chance to show Bella up. At least it had only been the two of them present. Still, Bella thought as she started to empty the contents of her briefcase into the drawers in her desk, nobody ever said that Consultancy was easy.


	4. Chapter 4

**CHAPTER 4 - Chasing Cars  
**

Lunch was a rather greasy affair in the Staff Canteen. "It comes to something when hamburgers and fries are labelled as the healthy option" Bella muttered to herself as the Canteen staff served her taco salad. She made herself a mental note to remember to bring her own lunch tomorrow. Either that, or not eat, one of the two would be fine.

"Bella!" Shouted the only person (apart from the aggressive Tanya) who knew her at Fairhaven. Aro was sitting in the corner with two other men. He gestured wildly at her "Come and join us."

Balancing her food and coffee on the tray, Bella gingerly made her way across the canteen, highly aware of all the people staring at her as she sat down at a table with the 'boss'.

"How're you doing?" Aro asked her, as she took a mouthful of lettuce.

"Fine," She muttered through a full to bursting mouth. A quick swallow, and she continued, "I cleared out my office, oh and I met Tanya Denali."

"And you survived?" The white haired man sitting opposite her laughed. "Tanya never takes too kindly to women – strange really, since she's meant to be the HR Manager." Taking a quick sip of his coke, the white haired man introduced himself as Tyler Crowley. "Production Manager." He stated, as if that said it all.

"I was hoping you two would meet." Aro said, staring over at Bella. "I want Tyler to take you on a tour of the shop floor this afternoon. Get you accustomed to the factory. That okay with you Tyler?"

"No problem." Tyler said. "As long as you don't mind chasing me as I run from one problem to another."

True to his word, Bella spent the next three hours running around after him, as he received reports of breakdowns and production problems on his hand held radio, and ran quickly to the point of concern. On the rare occasion when they stopped walking for a few minutes, Bella found herself rubbing her aching feet, wishing for the fiftieth time that she hadn't worn her Jimmy Choos, which were picking up dust like prostitutes pick up johns.

Having sorted out a broken machine on the Engine Dress Line, Tyler got the call to go to the Prepare for Sale area, where there was a Quality Concern.

As they strode quickly across the factory, Tyler pointed out areas of interest. "That's the end of the Trim line. That's where the car is fitted out on the inside, apart from the Engine, seats and wheels.

"And that's the Final Line. The wheels are put on, and then one of our operators gets in and tries to start it up. Each day we have to count up the number of cars which start first time. If they don't – we put them into that repair area over there." He gestured wildly at what looked suspiciously like a car park to Bella.

"This is where we do all the emissions and electrical tests" He said, pointing at a contraption looking rather like a car wash without the huge rotating sponges.

Finally they got to the Prepare for Sale area. It was a long space, which seemed to be full of cars attached by the wheel to a moving 's' shaped line, which took them up and down the side of the factory before going out of the door. This, Tyler assured her, was where the 'finishing touches' were put to the cars – to ensure that they were fit for public consumption.

"What's the problem?" Tyler asked the Foreman of the area.

"Look." The foreman walked over to the nearest car and opened the door. As soon as he did, the hinge wobbled, and the door almost fell off. "We've had forty of these already. They're going to take hours to repair."

"Fucking hell." Tyler started to go red in the face. "Have you radioed the door line?"

"Yeah. They said they're investigating it. I'm telling you, we'll have to lay on a shift of overtime tonight if you want to get any of these cars out the door today."

"Right. Let's go to the door line." Tyler started walking, and Bella had to run a couple of steps to catch up with her.

"Does this happen often?" Bella asked him.

"More often than we'd like. All it takes is for one operator to be lazy, or off the line, and it can cost us thousands of dollars. We're lucky when we get to find the problem before the cars go out the door. If it was a less visible problem – like something missing off the suspension – then we may not find out about it until the warranty claims start to come in. Or someone has an accident." He finished ominously.

About sixty yards from the doorline, Tyler picked up his radio to talk to the Foreman. "Dave, I'm almost there, and you'd better have all your fucking ducks lined up in a row." Bella could just about see the Foreman up ahead. As they got closer, she could see that the Foreman's face was almost as red as Tyler's.

"What the hell's going on?" He shouted at Dave, the Foreman, who looked as if he was about to cry.

"It's Graham Johnson. He's meant to be putting the final screw in the door, but he hasn't come back since lunchtime. I've had the Group Leader covering for him, but then someone at the end of the line got into trouble keeping up, and he had to help her instead. A few jobs got missed." Dave blustered, wincing at the expectation of a rant from Tyler. "As soon as I got the message from Prepare for Sale I stopped the line."

"Well that's okay then." Tyler said sarcastically. "Not only have we got about a hundred cars that need repairing, but you've also stopped the line for five minutes, costing us another eight cars. That's about thirty thousand dollars you've cost us Dave. Thanks very much. I won't even ask you where you were when all this happened. You couldn't manage a piss up in a brewery, let alone a fucking production line." In anger, Tyler hit the door nearest to him, causing a dent in the metal. The loud noise, mixed with Tyler's anger, made Bella wince. "Now," He said to Dave slowly, "I want you to start this line back up NOW, and send your repair man down to mend the doors at the Prepare for Sale area. I also want you to find out what the fuck happened to Graham or whatever his name is, and I want to see a disciplinary report on my desk by this evening, otherwise it'll be you getting disciplined. Got it?"

"Yeah, I'll sort it out." Dave stammered, looking visibly shaken.

"Good. And get someone from HR to help you with your discipline. I don't want you to fuck that one up as well." Then Tyler looked over at Bella, having momentarily forgotten she was there. "Right. Let's go." With that he walked away from the line, and back to the Prepare for Sale area. Using his radio as he went, he called the Production Secretary.

"Rita, can you get Jasper Hale to meet me in the PFS. Tell him I want to lay some overtime on tonight." Tyler turned off his radio and looked at Bella. "Jasper's the Plant Financial Director. He's not going to be happy about overtime."

"He'll be even less happy if you don't get any cars through those doors." Bella observed.

"Touché." Tyler laughed, appearing calmer than he was before. "Perhaps I should let you do the talking."

"Maybe on my second day." Bella laughed back, relieved that Tyler wasn't going to turn on her as well. She'd had enough of irate people with Tanya Denali this morning, she didn't want to fall out with every employee in the plant. "Does that sort of thing happen often?" She asked him as they walked into the Prepare for Sale area.

"A couple of times a day. This is a big plant – all it takes is for one operator to bugger up for a few minutes, and that's a whole stack of cars to repair. Once the Car is painted and ready for all the trim and engines to be put on, the whole thing becomes very labor intensive. We've got about a thousand employees a shift in this area alone. Once you include the Press Shop, Body Construction and the Paint shop, that's about two thousand a shift. It's a surprise that there aren't more fuck-ups.

By the time they arrived in the Prepare for Sale area, Jasper Hale was already there. He was a tall lean man, with a mop of blond hair which was overlong, the bangs covering his blue eyes. In his hands were a pad and a calculator.

"What's up?" He asked Tyler.

"About a hundred cars. I need to lay on an overtime shift, to get them out of the way before night shift. Otherwise we're going to be the biggest car park this side of Dearborn."

"How many operators?" Jasper asked, starting to type numbers into his calculator and coming up with over elaborate calculations on his pad.

"All the repairmen. That's about fifty. I reckon we need them for two hours to get these cars through the gates."

"Plus the foremen. At overtime rates," Jasper was muttering to himself as he tapped away. "You're talking a cost of seven thousand." He looked up at Tyler. "No, we can't afford it, but I can't see any other way of producing cars at the moment. I'm not sure how pleased headquarters will be."

"Fuck headquarters." Tyler said back. "I'll tell the foremen."

"Whatever." Jasper said, smiling. "I'll see you in the Production Meeting." Then, looking at Bella, he held out his hand. "I guess it's Bella? I suppose I'll see you in the meeting too."

"I guess so." Bella replied. "See you then." With that, Jasper disappeared and Tyler was over near the Factory wall, talking to the Foremen. At a loss of what to do, she started to wander around the lines, taking a closer look at what the operators were doing.

As she walked down the Final Line, Bella got a slightly different reception than when she had been with Tyler.

"Hey gorgeous" someone shouted out, and with that the air was filled with catcalls and whistles.

Bella, feeling embarrassed, decided to walk back to the Prepare for Sale – but then someone shouted at her.

"Show us your panties!"

She whipped around to see a huge beast of a man leaning up against a car. All the operators working near him laughed, staring at Bella and waiting to hear her response.

"Show me yours first." She shouted back at him. The entire line erupted in laughter again, and the beast turned back to his job, embarrassed.

"Shut the fuck up McCarty." A voice snarled from behind her, shouting at the beast, as Bella would now forever think of him. The voice behind her sounded familiar but she couldn't quite place it. Her curiosity got the better of her, and she whipped her head around to see who it was. That was when her heart stopped for the second time in two days. Honestly, she wasn't sure that poor organ could take much more of this.

Staring back at her, his green eyes looking just as beautiful as she remembered, was the stranger from the bar. And he didn't look happy to see her. In fact the expression on his face felt like one of hate. Bella gulped, instinctively stepping backwards away from him, her arms folding in front of her as if for protection. She was going to ask him why he was staring at her that way, what he was doing here at her work, but before she could open her mouth to say anything, he had turned on his heel and was walking away from her so quickly that she knew she would never be able to catch him up.

* * *

The Production Meeting started at five pm – half an hour after the day shift had ended, and four hours before the night shift was due to begin. Aro Volturi's secretary had let Bella take a look at previous minutes from the meeting – it seemed that the regular attendees were Aro, Tyler Crowley, Jasper Hale, the Quality Manger and – joy of joys – Tanya Denali. Bella wondered if Tanya was planning to tell Aro of their run-in this morning. She hoped not.

By five fifteen, Aro finally turned up with Tyler at his side. Both men were looking fairly miserable as they took their seats at the table in the Production conference room. Everyone helped themselves to coffee from the flasks in the middle of the table. Bella had a black coffee as she needed the caffeine injection; it had been a long day.

"Right. We've got three things on the agenda. Production Concerns; that's you, Tyler. Financial Reporting for the third quarter from Jasper. Thirdly, Tanya wants to discuss current disciplinary proceedings. Why don't we start with you Tyler?" Aro took a sip of his coffee and stared over at Tyler, who put his glasses on and started to read off his sheet.

"Out of a possible 620 build, we got 397 cars out the door. We have an additional 129 cars in the repair area, and have a production shortfall of 94. That's mainly down to a broken machine on the engine line, and stopping the line due to poor quality in the door line."

"Jesus Christ." Aro sighed. "That whole report epitomizes this place. I can't believe it can be that difficult to build the cars that we are scheduled to build. Why are there so many cars in the repair area?"

"Poor quality from the door line." Tyler said again. "We've laid on two hours of overtime to clear them out."

"Why was there poor quality?" Aro persisted, sensing that there was more to the problem than Tyler was telling him.

"We had an operator missing for three hours after lunch. The group leader couldn't cover it, so we've got over a hundred cars with a bolt missing."

Aro said nothing, just raised his eyebrows and started writing on his pad of paper.

"Anything else?" He asked.

"That's it." Tyler said, taking off his glasses and rubbing his eyes. Having been at the factory since five am that morning, he was beginning to feel tired.

"Right. Financial Report Jasper." Aro barked.

Jasper Hale handed out a piece of letter sized paper to everyone present. "This is the draft report for our third quarter financial status. We're due to hand this in to Headquarters next Friday. Rather than take you through it line by line, I'll point out the pertinent bits.

"Firstly, our production for the months from July to September was 30,217 –which included three weeks when the plant was shut down for Summer Vacation. This was an improvement on last year of 200 cars. However, our return on sale has worsened this year, cutting our profit levels further on each car. Furthermore, our fixed costs have increased – due to wage and taxation rises – and the warranty claim per car has also increased.

"In summary, we have made a loss of two hundred thousand dollars this quarter. This is – if you can believe it possible – even worse than in the second quarter."

There was a hushed silence around the room. Bella – whose brief had included the financial status of the plant – was still surprised to hear the extent of the problems.

Aro was the first to speak. "What will the response be?" He asked Jasper, who regularly met with the Financial Controllers at Headquarters.

"Well it's not going to be good, Aro." Jasper said bluntly. "We haven't made a profit for two years – and in fact our losses are getting bigger. If it was the Company, I'd shut the place."

"So would I." Aro muttered. "And since I am a shareholder in this Company, I wouldn't be that sorry if they did."

"It's easier said than done." Tanya Denali said, brushing her hair out of her face. Bella wondered what had happened to her tortoiseshell clip. "We're not an isolated factory – if we tried to shut this one down, there would be repercussions in Detroit Motor factories across the Country."

"That's what's kept us open for the last two years." Aro stated. "But it won't keep us open forever. No Company is that magnanimous."

With that, the next discussion was led by Tanya. "It came to my attention today that half the Foremen are disciplining their operators without actually making it formal. Then they wonder why they can't get rid of them when it becomes serious." Grabbing a piece of paper from her pocket, she continued; "Graham Johnson, an operator on the door line, was disciplined today for being absent from his place of work. The normal measure for a first time offense is a warning letter. But Dave Grant wanted to suspend him – he said that this was the third time Johnson had done this in a month.

"If they want to discipline employees – and I'm all for that – the Foremen must learn to do it properly. Tyler, I'm relying on you to get this message out."

Bella looked over at Tyler, whose red face looked like it was going to explode. Bella couldn't help but feel sorry for Dave Grant. She had a feeling that the Door Line foreman was not going to be let off lightly for this.

"Okay." Tyler muttered, wanting to get out of the meeting as quickly as possible.

"Right. The only other thing to do is to introduce you all to Bella Swan. I know some of you have met her already, but I just wanted you to see her in person, and to let you know that I have given Bella carte blanche to go wherever she needs to across the factory. Anyone who stops her has to answer to me. And the answer had better be good."

Looking up, Bella caught Tanya Denali shooting daggers at her with her eyes.

"Bella is based in Tanya's old office, for those of you that want to see her. I want her to be at my right hand, so to speak." Aro then stood up, and picked up his pad and his financial report. "Right, I don't think there's anything else, so we're through. I've got about two hours' work to do before I go home."

Everyone stood up to leave the room, and Aro gestured to Bella to walk with him.

"I hear you've been running around on the production floor." Aro said to her as they walked back to their offices.

"Yeah, I spent the afternoon with Tyler. It was pretty interesting." Bella agreed.

"Good. I want you to be in the thick of the action. Think of yourself as my mole – if something's going on, you should be there. That's where I want your recommendations to come from. Now – go back to your hotel, I hear that you're still looking for a place to live?"

"I've got a couple of places to see tonight." Bella said, as they reached his office door. "Hopefully I can move in next week."

As Aro shut his door, Bella picked up her briefcase and purse and headed for the door. Smiling to herself as she headed down the corridor she realized that she hadn't even had a chance to think about James Hunter all day. Most of that was thanks to a beautiful bronze haired stranger who appeared to desire and hate her in equal measure. She wondered what the hell he was doing here at Detroit Motors. And she hoped that she would see him again very soon.


	5. Chapter 5

**CHAPTER 5 – Friends and Enemies**

The ringing was drilling through her skull, making a pathway directly to her brain, bypassing her eardrums altogether. For a few moments it incorporated itself into her dreams, but its insistence caused her to draw away from them, back into reality and the ringing phone. After a couple of abortive attempts, she finally managed to grab hold of the receiver, and connect it with her ear.

"Mmm?" she said, taking a glance at the LED on her clock radio. Six am.

"Bella its Aro. Can you get in for a seven am meeting? We've got to work on strategy."

"Seven am." Repetition was about all she could manage at the moment in her dream-like state.

"Yeah. In the conference room."

"Okay." Did these people never sleep, she wondered as she replaced the phone back on her bedside table. Even if they didn't how the hell did they expect her to survive with less than eight hours sleep a day? Gingerly she put a foot out from under the bedcovers, and on to the wooden floor. The coldness against her foot caused her leg to recoil momentarily, but then she firmly put it back on the floor, and levered herself around to put her other foot there as well.

She had moved into the apartment the previous day, but with everything going on at work, she had only been there for a matter of hours - and most of those she had spent sleeping. Still, she was pretty pleased with her choice, the apartment was part of a converted warehouse, and had two bedrooms, a bathroom, kitchen and lounge. Pleasing on the eye, it was awash with bare wooden floors and white walls.

Within half an hour, she was pretty much ready to go. She had long since given up any hope of having breakfast before leaving for work – she had to make do with a cup of coffee and a Milky Way when she got there. Not the most nutritious meal in the world, but for some reason the weight she had gained in her last months with James seemed to be dropping off her. Something to do with forgetting to eat most evenings, she supposed.

At that time of the morning it only took twenty minutes to get to the factory. Bella felt lucky that she had her own parking space near the entrance – she wouldn't want to leave her BMW at the back of the lot, she was fairly certain that it wouldn't be there by the end of the day. She was in the office by six forty five, feeling pretty damned pleased with herself. Looking out of her window, she saw the sun just rising above the roofs of the high rise buildings, casting a red tint which was reflected by all the windows– making Bella momentarily shield her eyes from the glare.

Turning away from the window, she grabbed her folder and walked out of her office, towards the Executive Conference Room. She felt like she knew her way around the factory and offices much better now, and easily found the heavy oak door to the best room in the building.

"Are you ready to face the inquisition?" Jasper Hale asked her as she walked into the room.

"Excuse me?" Bella asked him, glancing around the room to see that nobody else had arrived yet.

"The Union.' He smiled gently at her. "They like to eat Management for breakfast. God only knows what they do to consultants."

Realising that Jasper was attempting to make a joke, Bella forced herself to laugh. Jasper just pushed his glasses up his nose and looked down at his calculator again, and started tapping out numbers.

"Morning Jasper." Tanya Denali breezily said as she walked into the room. Looking over at Bella she said, "Hello" – but not quite so breezily.

Bella and Jasper mumbled something back, neither willing to get into a conversation with her. As soon as Tanya had sat down at the conference table, Aro Volturi and Tyler Crowley walked in. Everyone helped themselves to coffee from the flask on the side table, and sat down looking expectantly at Aro. Bella could tell that none of them had received any more information than she had about the aim of this meeting.

Aro took a sip of his coffee and then looked up at his team. "Right. You all know that we've got a meeting this afternoon with the Union. They requested the meeting to discuss the financial report just issued by the Company. Despite our loss this month, the Company overall has made a record increase in profits. Unfortunately, the press release didn't go into specific plants, so for all the Union know we're raking it in." Another sip and then he continued. "So I want to use this meeting to make it perfectly clear to them exactly what the problems are at Fairhaven. Jasper, can you make a one page summary of our current state of affairs here?"

"Yes of course." Jasper looked slightly flustered. "I suppose I could use the paper that I presented at last night's production meeting. How much information do you want to give them?"

"Enough to show them we're in the shit." Aro said sharply. Then he turned his head and stared at Tanya. "I want you to present them with the absence statistics. Having an average of 20% of our employees sick per week is not satisfactory, and I want them to know it. Can you provide a one pager?"

"Yes." Tanya said, scribbling on her piece of paper. Bella, wondering what Tanya was writing, surreptitiously took a look. She was shocked to see, in small neat handwriting, that Tanya had put 'Aro Volturi is a piece of shit' on her pad.

"Right. Tyler – give them a breakdown of our production for the last month, including all our shortfalls and quality statistics." Tyler just nodded his head.

"Finally Bella. Can you do a report of your findings to date?" Aro asked.

"I already have." Bella felt supremely smug. Opening her folder she grabbed five pieces of paper and handed them out. "I've been concentrating on HR Procedures for the last two days. It will take a few weeks to have a definitive report so these are just my initial findings." Tanya Denali looked up sharply, and grabbed the report from Jasper Hale, who looked slightly surprised.

"I decided to break up my investigations into smaller chunks. HR, Finance, Production and Miscellaneous. I felt that would be easier to manage." Bella continued. "As you can probably see from the paper, I have found a number of areas that could be improved already. Not that this is a criticism of your department, Tanya," Bella looked up at her bete noire, "because a number of these things are lapses on the part of the foremen as well."

Glancing at her sheet – which came under the headings of Absence, Payroll, Discipline and Other, Bella proceeded to go through the paper in slightly more detail.

About ten minutes into her talk, when she got to the bit about 50% of people who were off sick not putting in a Medical Certificate, Aro finally exploded.

"What the fuck do you do all day Tanya?" He shouted at her. "Can't you even follow up on a simple piece of paper?"

"I don't think that's very constructive." Tanya had turned bright red, and was swallowing quickly. Bella hoped that she wasn't going to cry. "Half the time we don't know if people are even off sick, because the Foremen don't submit absence sheets properly every day."

"Because they're running a line with up to fifty people on them. They don't have enough time to have a piss, let alone write out a sheet every day." Tyler Crowley shouted back at her. "Perhaps if your HR Officers showed their face on the shop floor every once in a blue moon, my foremen might be more willing to work with them."

"Why is everything HR's fault?" Tanya shouted back at him, her face turning an unattractive shade of puce. "Just one piece of paper each day, and we could do our jobs one hundred per cent better."

Aro, who had sat back whilst Tanya and Tyler fought it out between them, decided to intervene. "Look. I really don't give a shit how you do it, but Tyler – your guys have to tell HR who is absent, and Tanya – your people have to get out of their ivory towers and on to the shop floor to get this information. I will not lose 20% of my workforce each day just because you two can't organise a piss up in a brewery between you." Taking a deep breath, he asked Bella to continue.

"Okay. I've put some suggestions for improvements on the second page. Some of it will include an initial capital investment – such as improved computer systems and terminal access for all foremen. This would mean that rather than writing out these absence sheets, it could be tied in to the clocking system, and this would alert the personnel officers whenever someone was off either sick or unauthorised absence." Glancing up to see Jasper squinting at her figures, Bella said, "These are just a basic suggestion Jasper, I've done a cost benefit analysis on the third page which shows the system should pay for itself inside of three months." The rest of the findings followed the same track. Aro sat back and looked pleased with himself, Jasper winced every time investment was mentioned, and Tanya and Tyler spent the rest of the meeting avoiding talking to each other. Both still had very red faces.

"Okay that's it. I want you all to give your reports to my secretary by eleven o'clock. The meeting starts at one pm, and I want you all to be here by quarter to. Does anyone have any questions?" He glanced at all of them, but nobody asked anything.

"Let's go then. Oh, and Tanya?" He looked over at her, as she was trying to pick up all her papers and run out the door – without much success.

"Yes Aro?"

"I want you and Bella to meet here at half past twelve, and you can take her through who all the union reps are."

"Oh. All right." She glanced over at Bella, who was helping herself to her third cup of coffee of the morning. "I'll see you then." It sounded more like a threat than a meeting.

Bella walked back to the office and checked her e-mail for any new notes. The screen flashed up five – two from her mother (both labelled confidential) one from James. The other two were just circulars.

Bella laughed as she read her mother's first note – she was demanding to know where Bella was, as that 'nice young lady' Alice had told her she had moved out. The second was an e-mail berating her for not answering the first. Bella clicked the delete button for both of them. She would call her mother later – it would only be eight am in Buenos Aires and her mother never surfaced until twelve noon. She had been living there since Bella was eighteen – when she ran away with a rich Argentinean businessman she had met at a Casino where she used to gamble her nights away. Aware that he would be able to support her lifestyle better than Bella's dad – a lowly cop – she made the move and had never looked backwards.

Bella's life had since been a whirl of term time boarding school, and being pushed from one relative to another during the vacations. The flat that she shared with Alice in Seattle had been the first proper home she knew. It was such a relief not having clothes in thirteen different locations.

The email from James was perfunctory. He was pleased to hear that Detroit Motors were happy with her work, and would give her a call in the next couple of weeks to find out how it was going. She made another quick delete on her e-mail system. If only it was as easy to erase him from her memory. Perhaps when she went back to the bar next Friday night, she might find just the guy to help her do that.

An hour later she found herself back at the conference room again, but this time sitting opposite a still – fuming Tanya Denali. Bella felt that if she could survive a half hour with her, then the Union should be pussy-cats.

"I think you were highly unprofessional this morning," Tanya launched her first missile "it would have been more courteous to run your findings past me first."

"That's what I was planning to do," Bella retorted "but Aro caught me on the hop. I had very little choice than to read it out. Anyway, it was all true." Bella was aware she sounded peevish, and didn't like what she heard.

"Yes, well there are always two sides to every story. I just hope that in future you can find the time to keep me in the loop. Now, on to the Union." And for the next half-hour Tanya took her through a pen picture of the main players who would be attending the meeting that day.

"The Union Leader is called Carlisle Masen. He's looked on as a God by most of the workers here. He calls strikes quicker than an umpire at a baseball match. He's just waiting for a bit of trouble that he can stir up, and I've told Aro that I'm worried the financial report will give him just that.

"The deputy leader is cut from a totally different cloth. His name's Edward Cullen, and he's only in his early thirties. I actually think he's more dangerous than Carlisle because he's extremely clever – people listen to him and does as he says. Carlisle relies on him a lot, and we all think that when Carlisle retires this year, Edward is bound to replace him. He hasn't put a foot wrong yet, but he's going to have to prove he's a leader to get elected to be Leader, and this might be his chance."

"Prove himself in which way?" Bella asked her, trying not to smile everytime Tanya almost swooned as she said "Edward Cullen". Bella wondered if there was anything going on between the two of them.

"Well, although he's respected by the workers, they don't always see him as one of them. His family have a lot of money, and he's University educated. Most of our workers aren't and when he first started here they were suspicious of his motives. I suspect that Edward may wish to take the lead in this fight, because it may be his last chance before Carlisle retires." Tanya replied. For the first time Bella could see why Tanya had got where she was – clearly she was better at the Union politics than at collecting in sick notes.

"So you think there'll be a fight?" Bella persisted.

"I'm pretty sure. There's not been much activity recently, and it's been like the calm before the storm. As soon as we put the full picture to them, they're going to be at our throats with 'management incompetence' and other such accusations." Tanya picked up her pencil and started chewing the top. "There will be other Union representatives there this afternoon – but those two will be doing most of the talking. Emmett McCarty will also be here, he's the other deputy leader. We all thought he would be the next leader until Edward arrived."

Bella smiled back at Tanya. "So if there's infighting that should make it easier for us."

"Don't count on it. If they can't even agree amongst themselves, we've got next to no chance to get them to agree with us on any terms. We could just end up with anarchy."

"Anarchy - schmanarchy" Tyler shouted out as he walked through the door into the conference room. "Those guys don't even know how to spell it, let alone create it."

Tanya just scowled back at him. She had enjoyed being patronising to Bella, and showing her she did know what she was talking about. Now Tyler was in the room, she withdrew, knowing that he would automatically dispute anything she said.

As the rest of the management and the Union filed in, and sat on opposing sides, Bella took the chance to take a look at the new faces.

Carlisle Masen sat in the middle of the table. He was tall and slim, with only a smattering of grey weaved amongst his golden hair. His face was smooth for a man of his age, and Bella was surprised at how attractive he was. No wonder the management had a hard time saying 'no' to him.

As Bella looked at the man to Carlisle's left, she took a deep intake of breath. It was like he was stalking her, he was her very own beautiful, sexy angry guardian angel. He was staring straight at her, unblinking. She couldn't look away even if she wanted to. Not that she wanted to, he was too beautiful to make her avert her gaze. She swallowed deeply, aware that she wasn't looking at her most professional, right at the time when it mattered. At least she knew his name now, maybe next time he stuck his tongue down her throat she'd be able to call him Edward. God, she hoped there was a next time.

When he saw her looking at him, his lips turned down, his face scowling. At that moment Bella shivered, because the expression on his face once again resembled that of hate. She couldn't understand why he was having such a strong adverse reaction to her, when he had seemed so in to her on Friday night. Maybe she smelled – surreptitiously she grabbed hold of a piece of her hair and sniffed it. No, couldn't be that, all she could smell was the fruity scent of the shampoo she had used that morning.

Looking back up, she saw that he was still staring at her. She squirmed in her chair, feeling completely exposed and uncomfortable. She couldn't bring herself to meet his gaze again, fearing that the expression on his face would still be so clear. Instead she moved her gaze over to the man sitting on the other side of Carlisle Masen.

Also in his thirties, Bella recognised him as the man who had asked her to flash her underwear yesterday. He was absolutely massive, a bear of a man, with dark curly hair and blue eyes which looked extremely amused as he moved his gaze between Bella and Edward Cullen.

Where McCarty was all muscle and brawn, Edward was lean and toned, his arm muscles were taught and sinewy as they emerged from his short sleeved button down shirt. For some reason all Bella wanted to do was run her fingers down his arm, feeling the soft downy hair and the hard defined muscles she saw there. She felt like she was salivating, she hoped the expression on her face didn't match the way she was feeling right now.

Luckily, Tanya chose that moment to speak and bring Bella back to her senses, or what was left of them.

"Right everybody," Tanya opened the meeting, "you guys asked for this meeting so perhaps you would like to start."

"Yes of course." Carlisle said in a deep mellifluous voice. He pulled a crumpled piece of newspaper from his back pocket and opened it up. Smoothing out the creases, he turned it around for Aro to see. "I happened to be reading the paper, and what should it say but 'Detroit Motors announce record profits.' Now I'm not saying this is bad news, but I have to tell you that I'm more than a little pissed that I have to hear it from the Detroit Free Press." Angrily he pointed at the headline on the financial page.

"I know the level of communication in this place has always been useless, but this really is rock bottom. What were you afraid of – that we'd ask for something in return for our hard work?"

"We've been waiting for an opportunity to apprise you of the financial situation." Jasper Hale interjected, and in his eagerness to respond his wire framed glasses slipped off his nose altogether and on to the table in front of him. "But every time I've tried to call a meeting regarding the Fairhaven financial situation, you've cancelled it."

"That's because we find you intensely boring Jasper." Emmett McCarty laughed at him as he stumbled to pick up his spectacles.

"Shut up Emmett." Carlisle silenced him. "My second point is that we have been asking you for a number of things over the past year, and you have claimed poverty and have not delivered. Clearly – you've been feeding us with a pack of lies.

"We've asked for a wage rise of five per cent – you've given us inflation. We wanted improved bathroom facilities, improved holidays as well as increasing our car discounts. You've told us you can't afford it and.." at this point Carlisle stood up and banged his fist loudly on the table, causing a few cups of coffee to spill over, "frankly you've been lying your fucking brains out."

"That's not strictly fair." Tanya replied, motioning to Bella to hand out copies of Jasper's financial statements. "I think that these figures may point out to you the truth in what we have been saying."

"We are in the shit boys." Aro stated. "This financial quarter we made a loss of two hundred thousand dollars. This year we've made a huge dent in the profits of the Company, and there is absolutely no fucking way I am going to go and ask them for more money to pay for your johns."

"Why are we in the shit when the rest of the industry is making money hand over fist?" Edward Cullen asked, pushing his bronze hair out of his eyes so that he could take a better look at the figures.

"We've had a number of low production days for a start, what with high absenteeism and everything, plus the quality of our cars has meant that about 50% of our customers take them back to the dealer and claim for the repairs on warranty – which means we have to pay." Aro said flatly, staring back at Edward. "And word gets round. All the recent publicity about faulty brakes hasn't done us much good – people don't want to buy Detroit Coralles any more" He said, referring to the model of car made in Fairhaven.

"So what you are telling me is that due to management incompetence, you lot are losing money hand over fist?" Edward had clearly taken control of the union response. Most of the others were still looking at the financial report – trying to understand it. Bella squirmed in her seat, trying her best not to get turned on by seeing him so angry.

"Bullshit. Maybe you didn't hear me right. Your members are building a shit car – that's when they're building cars of course. Most of the time they're at home with their feet up on my money." Aro replied, still not getting flustered. "If we had a few more of them working and less of them absent, we'd be in a lot better shape."

"I would totally agree with you, apart from the fact that all these guys are genuinely ill. I haven't seen a single discipline for absence without permission in the last year." Edward said, looking challengingly at Aro. "If you recruited more people to stand in for sick employees, rather than running this factory down to skin and bones, then your job would be a lot easier."

"But that would cost more money." Jasper stuttered, hoping Aro wasn't taking Edward seriously. How the hell would he explain that to head office?

"But you would also make more money – by producing more cars." Edward replied. "And although I don't have a degree in finance, I do know that as long as you make more money than you spend, then it's worthwhile spending it."

Jasper muttered to himself, but said nothing out loud. Now he remembered why he didn't like meetings with the Union.

"Perhaps you'd like to tell us how you're going to get yourselves out of your mess?" Carlisle shouted out, trying to take control again.

"We've been working on changing the way things are done around here." Aro stood up and started to hand out a memorandum to everybody at the table. "This is Bella Swan, from Grayson – Brown. She's helping us to reengineer the business. She has made a number of suggestions already – which you can see on this piece of paper. Perhaps you'd like to go through them one by one."

"Is this Grayson – Brown a kindergarten?" Emmett McCarty shouted out. The rest of them laughed. All except Edward, who just stared at her, his eyes narrowing as he saw her catch his gaze.

Bella, feeling slightly uncomfortable, shifted in her seat. "No. It's the top Management Consultancy in Seattle."

"So you can afford to pay them, but not to give us a pay rise?" Edward said accusingly to Aro before turning to stare once again at Bella. She looked down quickly, hoping that he didn't see her looking at him first.

"Yeah. I like the returns better." Aro snapped.

"What's this bit about not paying sick pay?" Emmett shouted, pointing it out to Carlisle.

"That's right – make the people sick with cancer pay to get you out of the shit." Carlisle joined in.

"I am sick of your attitude." Aro shouted back, his face turning a bright shade of puce. "If you were willing to sit at the table and discuss the options like adults, we'd be a lot better off." He inhaled deeply, and continued; "Now. There is one option we do not have. That is to do nothing. If we don't turn things around we will be shut. Detroit Motors aren't going to let us go on in the red indefinitely. So I suggest that we go through the proposals, and stop fucking about."

"If you change our sick pay, I'll take my men out." Carlisle threatened.

"I'm not ruling out any option." Aro warned him, leaning back on his chair as if to challenge him.

"Then we're leaving." Edward said. "If you implement any of this – you have our word that we'll strike." He stood up, pushing his chair back roughly, and signalled the others to follow him. Before walking out of the door, he glanced back, and once again he stared directly at Bella. Feeling annoyed at her earlier involuntary responses to him, she gazed right back at him with narrowed eyes. If he wanted a fight, then she was goddamned ready to give him one. In fact, she was looking forward to bringing him and his cronies down. The line had been drawn – it was them and us, and Bella knew which side she was on. Bring it on.


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N - Thank you for the reviews and the adds!**

**Warning - this chapter contains a scene of sexual assault. If this worries you, or has the potential to trigger you, please pm me and I will update you on the plot line without you having to read it.**

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**CHAPTER 6 - Violations**

After such a fraught day, Bella was glad she had arranged to go out with Rose, an old friend from University who was visiting Michigan for a few days with work. At nine o'clock exactly, she walked into the bar

"Hiya stranger!" Rose called out from the bar, where she was stood with a crowd of people. "Do you still drink vodka?"

"Only when drunk." Bella shouted back over the noise of the pub. "I'm more of a spritzer girl now."

"Very Professional." Rose laughed, as she handed twenty dollars to the barman. "So how're you doing?"

"Not so bad. I've had a pretty crappy day at work, so I'm ready to have a good time tonight." Bella replied, taking a huge slug of wine and soda to get herself in the party mood.

"And how's your apartment?

"It's great. Not that I've been home to enjoy it that much. Anyway, who is everybody here?" Bella asked.

"Oh, I don't know most of them." Rose confided. "Only Jake over there" She said gesturing at a gangly dark haired guy who was attempting to slam tequilas, but without too much success. In fact, he had twice ended up with a face full of alcohol – where he had forgotten to put his hand over the glass. "Oh, and Jess in the corner. I've only been visited the Detroit office a couple of times before, so they rest of them must be new."

Bella smiled over at Jake, who waved back and walked around the bar to introduce himself to her.

"Who is this lovely specimen, Rose?" He boomed, his voice sounding classier than his clothes looked.

"This is Bella. We went to U Dub together."

"What did you do?" The question was clearly addressed to Bella, but Rose replied, "Zoology. A lot of bloody good it did me, now I'm working in a bank."

"I meant Bella." Looking over at her friend, Bella saw her gulp slightly. She suspected that Rose had a thing for the beanpole Jake.

"Business Studies." She replied shortly, wishing that Jake wouldn't get quite so near to her face. She could smell tequila fumes coming out of his mouth every time he breathed.

"It's amazing how all the prettiest girls always do business studies. Someone should have told me that before I went to university. I did Politics you know." He guffawed at this, and Bella flinched backwards, to try to avoid the flying tequila – tinged spittle that launched itself from his mouth.

"So how is work going?" Bella turned to Rose, hoping that Jake would take the hint. He didn't.

"We work together you know." Jake butted in. "I'm a trainee manager, on the graduate scheme."

Rose blushed and smiled at Bella. "It's not so bad. It pays the rent – just." Bella, feeling bad for her friend and wishing that Jake would drop dead, downed her spritzer and ordered another round.

Someone had put some money into the jukebox and had made some pretty good choices. Smashing Pumpkins were followed by The Killers and the Maroon 5. Bella felt herself swaying along to the songs, and drank another three spritzers before the group decided to move on.

The next venue was called 'McAdams'. It was a club down in the vaults of the next street, and they all had to sign in at the desk. Jake thought it was particularly funny to sign himself as 'Hugh Cock', and tried to make the 'h' look like an 'e'.

For somewhere that Bella had never heard of before, McAdams was pretty full of people – mostly her own age but some a bit older as well. It was less sophisticated than the last bar, but what the hell, a spritzer was the same wherever they poured it.

"So do you get lonely around here?" Jake was asking her, as he downed his second whisky.

"Not really." Bella replied, hardly looking him in the face. "I work a lot, and go out in the evenings. There's never any time to get bored."

"Have you got a boyfriend?"

Oh God, not that old one surely? "Yes." Bella replied, assuming that Jake would now steer off the subject.

"What, here?"

"No, Seattle." It was a lie, but only a small one. Until a few weeks ago she had a boyfriend in Seattle. He hadn't been much use to her then, but perhaps she could use him to stave off the over – eager Jake.

"So you haven't got anybody in Michigan then?"

Bella turned on him. "For Christ sake get the message, I have a boyfriend, and I don't intend to be unfaithful. Okay?"

Jake put his hands up, as if to stave off her anger. "Calm down will you? I was just making polite bloody conversation." He picked up his drink and started to walk away. "You're friend's a psycho." He said to Rose as he walked past her. Rose looked over at Bella, who shrugged her shoulders and downed her spritzer and ordered another one. It felt like it was going to be a long night.

Standing alone for a while, Bella scanned the room to see what was going on. It didn't look like she was missing out on very much. In one corner stood what looked like a group of construction workers, who appeared to be jumping on to each others' shoulders, and kicking drinks out of the hands of groups standing next to them. Not that anybody challenged them or had a go at them for doing this, because they were all about six foot five and sixteen stone, and nobody had the balls to even try.

As she turned around to pick her drink up from the bar, she saw a familiar face standing next to her.

Oh God, it was Edward. The last time she had seen him this afternoon, he was accusing her of wasting Company money, before storming out of the office. She hated confrontation at the best of times, and now was not the best of time, having just been called a psycho by Rose's friend Jake.

What should she do? Stand there and face the other way, or try to make conversation. Perhaps something like 'when are you going to kiss me again?' would be sensible. Or perhaps, 'sick pay isn't everything you know' would go down well. Perhaps she would be better off getting the hell out of there as soon as her feet would take her.

"Hi Bella." Edward had clearly taken the decision out of her hands.

"Edward." She tried to smile, but succeeded only in turning the edges of her lips up slightly, making her look like a sycophant rather than an alluring woman. Feeling like now was the time to make amends, she offered her hand to him.

Edward shook her hand vigorously. "I hope you didn't find today's meeting too fraught." He was clearly going to keep things professional and pretend he didn't remember her from the other night. Maybe he didn't – was she that forgettable?

"No more than I expected." Bella became guarded. Maybe he was going to try and pump some information out of her. The last thing she wanted was to become a Union mole. "I guess being called a kindergarten girl set the tone for what was to follow."

"You shouldn't take any notice of that. It's all a game. We shout, you accuse, eventually we come to an agreement. It's the way we do things around here."

"Perhaps that's why Fairhaven is in such shit now." Bella replied. She hated all that posturing bullshit that seemed to be the way of things in the manufacturing industry.

Edward paid for his beer and took a long drink. He stared at her in disbelief. "You haven't got the slightest clue what this is all about have you?" He asked her.

"What do you mean?"

"You don't really believe they brought you in to find efficiencies just for the sake of it do you?"

Bella was taken aback. She couldn't really see what Edward was getting at. "Er, yes, that's exactly why I was brought in."

"Look Bella." Edward put his pint down and turned to look her straight in the eyes. Bella found it rather unnerving, having those dark green eyes right in front of her face. "Tthere are agendas under agendas that you will never learn even if you stay here for fifty years. There's history and personalities and all that shit which means that nothing in Fairhaven is black and white."

"Whatever." Bella swigged her spritzer. "To be honest, it's a Thursday night and I'm not really up to talking about work."

Edward shrugged his shoulders. "If that's what you want. But if you ever want to find out why you're really here, come and see me." With that he stalked away to join a group of men on the other side of the bar. Bella stared after him for a while, wondering what the hell he was talking about. Probably his aim had been to unnerve her, and he had definitely succeeded. He hadn't mentioned meeting tomorrow night; it looked like all bets were off. She tried to swallow the bitter taste of disappointment she felt in her mouth.

"Who was that?" Rose ran up to her, sounding slightly breathless.

"Someone from work." Bella said, glancing over at Edward again. He turned around and raised his beer at her. "One of the union guys."

"How I wish we were unionised." Rose laughed. "I'd go to them with all my problems, and they could massage them away."

"He's not that nice!" Bella smiled. "He's just well built."

"He's got the body of an angel and a face to go with it." Rose was sounding almost poetic.

"Rose." Bella said, firmly turning her friend's face around from the direction of Edward. "You clearly haven't had enough sex recently. How about we go and find somebody who's up for it."

"Any body would do!" Rose agreed, giggling.

After an hour, Rose was firmly ensconced at a table with a friendly looking blond haired twenty-year-old student. The poor guy looked as if he had won the lottery when Rose went up to talk to him. Bella hoped that he would fuck the life out of her friend, and stop her from fancying idiots like Jake, or even worse, Edward.

Feeling a bit lonely, very drunk and wanting to be in her own bed, Bella decided it was time to go home.

"Rose" she shouted over at her friend who seemed to be running her entire body up and down the poor bloke. Bella could swear that if the music wasn't on, Rose would have been purring. "I'm off. Thanks for a good night."

"See ya!" Rose cried out, not bothering to get up. Bella didn't mind, it was nice to see her happy for a change.

Pulling her French Connection jacket on, Bella felt herself wobbling on her high heels. She was very unsteady on her feet. Mentally, she tried to work out how many spritzers she had drunk that evening, but lost count at ten.

"Get in a taxi, give them your address, and try not to vomit." She told herself as she walked up the stairs out of McAdams. The cool night air hit her like a bomb, and taking in her first breath of clean air that evening, she realised that she was very drunk indeed. She had better put her bag diagonally across her body, otherwise there was a chance that either she would lose it, or somebody might see her as an easy target for bag snatching.

Everything in the street looked different at night, and Bella had trouble remembering the way to the taxi rank. It was either left or right, and for the life of her, she could not work out which way to go.

Left. She would go left, and even if there were no taxis there, at least she would be heading back in to town. But then, if she went right, she would be heading for the main ring road, and could even make it to the apartment on foot, if necessary. How come she couldn't even make a simple decision about which way to walk?

By this time, the delay between her brain commands and her limbs had meant that she was walking left anyway. The streets just outside of the Business District were narrow and closed in, and Bella could feel herself begin to shiver, perhaps out of fear, or more likely due to the fact that it was pretty cold. Either way she wanted to get out of here quickly.

"Bella, wait up! I'll take you home." Tall gangly Jake was running after her. Hadn't he got the message last time?

"No thanks, I can do it on my own." By this time he had caught up with her, and had grabbed her right arm.

"It's not safe for you to be walking around on your own."

"Not even if I'm a psycho?" Bella jibed back. There was no way she was going to let this annoying little pest anywhere near her apartment, drunk or not.

"Oh come on, I was just joking." Jake cajoled. "I think we could have something really good between us, if we both tried a little harder."

"Look Jake, I don't want to try harder." Bella spat out, trying to get her arm out of his grasp.

"Stop denying it." Jake almost shouted. "I could tell you wanted me back at McAdams. There was chemistry there." He bent his head and tried to place his lips on hers. Bella moved backwards and swung her head out of his lip range, closing her eyes with the effort.

Suddenly he slammed her hard against the wall. So hard that she felt all the breath go out of her, so that it was a struggle even to get enough oxygen down her throat, let alone fight back. There wasn't even enough air in her lungs to call out, and there was certainly nobody in the streets to help her.

He moved in again, this time connecting his lips with hers. Bella felt herself go tense all over, trying to summon up enough energy to push him away. Her breath was coming in small, shallow gasps, enough to raise her heartbeat to a higher level. Her chest felt like it was about to explode.

"Get off me." She managed to gasp out, in a whisper loud enough only for him to hear. She couldn't think straight. What should she do? What did they tell people like her to do in this situation? She couldn't remember.

"You fucking tease." Jake grunted at her, as he pushed her skirt further up her legs, started to worm his trespassing hands up her thighs and towards her pants.

Bella couldn't say anything. The horror of what was happening to her was just dawning. She was in the middle of a strange city, late at night, with a six-foot three man trying to molest her. She didn't have the faintest clue of how she was going to get out of this.

Tears of frustration sprang to her eyes. The seconds seemed to tick past like minutes, and all she could do was stand still whilst Jake's hands invaded her body, touched parts of her that she didn't even want to think about. Her mind seemed to be taken over by a bright white light, with no room for thoughts or deeds or anything but submitting to this disgusting, horrible man. Silent sobs seemed to rack their way through her body, making her stomach churn and the bile begin to make its way up her throat.

Her body remained rigid against the cold hard bricks of the building wall. Her skirt had been pushed up to her waist, and she could feel the coldness now on her buttocks. Then Jake's hot hands grabbing her and grinding his crotch against hers suddenly warmed them. He still had his trousers on, he wasn't raping her yet, but it didn't stop Bella from feeling violated.

The light seemed to fade away from her brain, and somehow rational thought began to creep back in. Like an alarm squealing out through her head, the words 'GET AWAY GET AWAY GET AWAY' seemed to shout out in her mind. She had to stop him. He began to fiddle with his belt, having problems getting it undone. Surely he hadn't taken her frozen submission as encouragement.

Curling her right toes up, so that they formed a fist of her foot, she swung her leg backwards and summoned up enough energy to propel her foot forwards, meeting his shin with a loud cracking noise.

"Oh fuck!" Jake cried out, doubling over in pain and grabbing his left leg. "You fucking bitch." He shouted, as Bella pushed him far enough away from her to begin to get out of his grasp.

She couldn't run in these shoes, and there was no way she was going to stop long enough to take them off. Slowly, slowly she staggered up the road, back towards the main street. Her chest was bursting with a need to scream, to cry out in pain and fear, but when she opened her mouth, she couldn't do more than whimper.

"Oh god oh god oh god oh god" she wrapped her arms about her chest as she stumbled down the road, seeing the brighter lights up ahead.

Then a human tower of flesh rammed itself against her with all its strength, and Bella felt herself fall to the floor on her back, felt her skull crack against the rock hard pavement.

Jake said nothing, but formed his right hand into a fist and hit her hard on the face, just above her left cheek. The impact of the punch made Bella's head turn, and the right hand side of her face hit the paving slab.

"Help me!" Bella shouted out, feeling Jake's knees pin her arms to the ground. She began to flail her legs, but they were ineffectual, unable to do anything but drain the energy out of her.

"Shut the fuck up." Jake shouted, hitting her again, this time on the chin, so that her bottom teeth crunched hard into the top ones, and her eyes began to flutter, her vision beginning to go blurry. Everything looked darker, Jake, despite having his face only inches from hers, seemed to be fading away.

"NO!" She managed to cry again, this time she could feel blood bubbling in her mouth as she did it. She wanted to touch her mouth, see if her teeth were still there – but Jake's knees had made sure she couldn't move her arms.

There was a large clatter of noise to her left, sounding like somebody running. Bella couldn't see what was going on, but felt the weight of Jake's knees go off her arms, and suddenly she was free. She couldn't bring herself to move, however, as she listened to the sound of flesh meeting flesh, the cracking sounds as somebody punched the life out of Jake. She could tell it was Jake being punched, as he let out a high pitched moan every time the fist connected with his skull.

"Bella?" A voice called at her from what seemed like far away. "Bella, can you hear me?"

"Uhmm." Bella managed to say. She tried to force her body to sit up, but the pain in her skull seemed to be too much. The man came over and knelt down next to her. Through the haze in her eyes, Bella could just make out that it was Edward Cullen.

"Bella, can you see me?" He asked, as he helped her into a sitting up position.

"Just about." She croaked. Things seemed to be coming in to focus a bit more.

"Try and stand up." He put one hand gently under each armpit, and pulled her up so that she was standing on both feet. She leaned heavily against him, not trusting her shaking legs to hold up her entire body weight if he let go.

"I'm okay." Bella said, trying to reassure herself as much as Edward.

"You're face is a bit of a mess." Edward said. "You ought to go to hospital."

"I just want to go home." Bella pleaded, feeling the thought of her own bed as comforting as the touch of Edward's arms around her shoulders.

"Well, you should at least call the police. He shouldn't be allowed to get away with this."

"He won't." Bella muttered through her teeth. "But I'll deal with it later."

"Let me take you home." Edward suggested, slowly walking her along the street. "Where do you live?"

Bella told him her address, using most of her energy up in making one foot walk in front of the other. "Just down the road."

Edward hailed a taxi and it only took a few minutes for them to get back to Bella's apartment. He insisted on walking her to the door, which Bella found quite sweet, considering what a state she must have looked.

As she put her key inside the door, she turned around to look at Edward. "Would you like a coffee?" She laughed at the innuendo in her own voice, feeling relieved that she had it in her to at least laugh at something.

"I'll make you one." Edward suggested, going towards her kitchen as she pointed it out.

Bella walked into the bathroom, steeling herself to be prepared for the worst as she looked in the mirror.

Actually she didn't look as bad as she felt. There was slight bruising around her chin, and she had the smallest hint of a black eye. Her top lip was split where her teeth had been forced into it by Jake's punch, but there was nothing that couldn't be hidden up with a lot of make-up.

She looked down at her body; her skirt was ripped up the side, and her top was ripped at the back where it had been rubbed against both wall and pavement. She took all her clothes off and stood in the shower for a minute, washing herself down, feeling relief as she got rid of any trace of Jake's hands on her body. She closed her eyes as she felt the hot jets of water touch her, warm up her cold skin. She didn't even want to think about what her next move should be. Perhaps she should call a hit squad, get Jake back for good. She didn't want to call the police. She knew that she owed it to her fellow womankind, but didn't want to put herself through the questioning, the prying, and even perhaps a trial.

She got out of the shower and pulled a huge fluffy white bathrobe around her body, firmly pulling the belt around her waist.

Edward was sat down in the lounge, and the cups of coffee were in front of him on the table.

Bella smiled at him. "I just wanted to say thanks." She said shyly. "For everything you did today."

"Anyone would have done the same." Edward shrugged. "It was just lucky that I was coming out of the bar at the right time."

"Lucky for me." Bella smiled. "But anyway, not everyone would have helped, so thanks."

They drank their coffees in silence. Bella found it hard to try and come up with some conversation with the virtual stranger sitting in her lounge. She was very aware that she was just wearing a bathrobe over her naked body, and kept her legs firmly tucked under herself to avoid any gaping.

"Listen, I'd better go." Edward said, getting up. "He scribbled down something on a scrap piece of paper. "This is my number, call me if you have any problems."

Bella took the proffered paper, and put it on the side. "Thanks Edward." She said. She wondered why he didn't give her his number when he wanted to fuck her, but as soon as she was a damsel in distress he was writing digits left right and centre.

"Forget it." He said, pulling his jacket on. "I'll probably see you at work next week."

"Yeah." Bella had forgotten about work. "I'll see you then."

"Oh and Bella?" He said as he was about to walk out of the door?

"Yes?"

"I'm sorry about last Friday. It was totally inappropriate; I shouldn't have kissed you like that." He looked down shyly, suddenly looking all of eighteen years old as he avoided her gaze. "It won't happen again."

As he left, Bella sank down into the loveseat and started to sob. As the tears ran down her face, she couldn't work out whether she was crying about the violation that Jake had inflicted on her body, or the fact that it felt like Edward Cullen was breaking her heart.


	7. Chapter 7

**CHAPTER 7 – Falling Down**

When Bella woke the next morning, her face felt tender where she had lain on it all night. Gingerly touching it with the tips of her fingers, she winced as the pain brought back the memory of the previous evening. She knew that she was going to have to go to the Police Station and relive the events of the night, as much of the thought of it sickened her. She decided to call Rose straight away and apprise her of the situation – the last thing she wanted was for Rose to be caught unaware by the Police requesting a witness statement.

Rose was absolutely livid. Firstly that Jake had done such a thing, and secondly that Bella hadn't told her straight away and asked for her to come over. It took Bella over an hour to reassure Rose that it wasn't as bad as it sounded, and that she really was okay.

But was she? Bella wasn't sure. She had had difficulty sleeping the night before, her head had been full of noise, her body buzzing with the adrenalin that Jake's attack had forced out. In addition to this, the memory of Edward's words that night made her feel a hundred times worse. By the time she drifted off at 5am, she was so exhausted that her sleep did little more than tide her over for a couple of hours. She awoke feeling anything but refreshed.

But more than anything she felt angry. Really pissed that Jake had the temerity to touch her, to hurt her. She wanted to hurt him the way that he had tried to hurt her. It took everything she had left inside to let the Police take control, rather than taking matters into her own hands.

The next two weeks passed quickly, and slowly Bella found herself slightly calmer about the whole situation. She had given the Police her statement, and somehow this transference of responsibility enabled her to start to process things. They had explained that the investigation would take some time, and she was determined that during this time she would live her life like a normal human being. To do anything else would be letting Jake win.

At work, the Union had still been refusing to meet with Aro Volturi, who was getting progressively more frustrated with the inability to move forward.

"What's our next move?" He questioned Tanya Denali at a Thursday morning strategy meeting.

"We have two choices. We wait for them to move, or we force the situation." Tanya replied, smiling sweetly at Aro.

"How would we force the situation?" Aro asked.

"We could implement Bella's suggestions and start working under new sick pay practices. We could bring in all sorts of new working practices."

"And what would happen?" Aro questioned, leaning over the table to give Tanya a steely glare.

"They would pull all the men out and go on strike." Tanya replied. "And it would be completely legal, as we will have changed their terms and conditions without prior agreement."

Aro sat back heavily in his chair. "So we do nothing." He muttered, sounding defeated.

"I don't see we have any other choice." Tanya shrugged. "Except, I've started to have some informal chats with the Union, and they have suggested that if we comply with some conditions, they would be willing to come to the table.

"What conditions?" Jasper Hale asked. He was sitting to the left of Aro, and had been quiet for the whole of the meeting, except for the occasional nervous tapping of his calculator.

"They want you to remove any suggestions of changing their sick pay. And they want Bella removed from the factory." Tanya shot a look at Bella, who understood the meaning of it immediately. Tanya had found a way to get rid of her.

"What will that achieve?" Aro asked wearily.

"They feel that Bella is an outsider, and she holds no stake in working towards the factory staying open." Tanya said. "Some of them think she's here to close the place down. They don't feel comfortable with her."

Bella, feeling sick of people talking about her whilst she was in the same room, turned to her right to look at Aro Volturi. "Do you want me to leave?" She questioned.

"Bella stays." Aro said firmly. "To be quite honest, Tanya, she's the only one who talks much sense around here."

It was Bella's turn to shoot a look back at Tanya, and she felt a certain amount of satisfaction in seeing the shocked and angry expression on Tanya's face.

"Oh, there was one other thing." Tanya rejoined. "I've also heard rumblings of sabotage. I don't think we should expect the next few weeks to be easy."

"What kind of sabotage?" Bella asked. In her few years of consulting, she had never had to deal with this before.

"It could be anything." Tanya said, "But just keep your eyes peeled. They'll try to scare us or devalue the cars or anything to get our attention."

"I can't believe they would do anything stupid enough to cost us more money." Jasper interjected. "Surely they know that it would only make things worse?"

"Look Jasper," Tanya turned to him, "They don't think the same way we do. We have to keep on drumming it into their heads that we're losing money here even though the rest of the Company has a huge profit. Eventually they may listen."

Suddenly the door of the conference room opened, and Aro's secretary popped her head around the corner.

"Mr Volturi, Tyler Crowley is trying to get in contact with you. Apparently there are production problems." With that she disappeared back behind the closing door.

"Shit," Aro muttered as he fiddled with his short-range radio. "This is all we need." With that he called for Tyler over the airwaves.

"Aro, it's Tyler." The production manager replied. The whole of the conference room was filled with the sound of Aro and Tyler's conversation. Bella sat very still listening to their words.

"Aro we've got a problem. Every fourth car is coming off the line with a dent on it."

"What's the cause?" Aro shouted back. The noise of the production lines were making it difficult for Tyler to hear him, or be heard over the din.

"It looks like somebody's boot." Tyler replied. "There's no cause and there is no particular source."

"I'm coming down." Aro snapped. "Come with me Bella."

Bella stood up and followed him quickly out of the door. "I guess this is the start of the problems." Aro muttered. "If they don't stop this then we'll have to shut the lines down."

"How soon will that happen?" She struggled to keep up with him, having to take two strides to his one.

"There's only space for about two hundred cars in the repair area. So we've got around two hours."

Walking down the lines towards the repair area, Bella was very aware of the silence that greeted them from all the lines. Only two weeks ago there was shouting, laughing and catcalls as she walked down the line. Now there were frozen stares looking in her direction. Bella didn't like the atmosphere that seemed to be pervading the factory.

"So what's the plan?" Bella asked him.

Aro threw the question back at her. "What would you do?"

"Well," Bella thought for a moment. "I'd probably call up the Union guys and ask them to meet me in the repair area. Then I'd talk to them and explain that if we stop the lines, we would have to report it and may have to lay people off without pay until the cars were repaired. I might outline the long-term problems that any publicity could cause."

"And if they refuse to step in?" Aro prompted.

"I would close the lines down and send the employees home." Bella replied. "Our orders are down this month, so it's not as if we'd be losing too much money. And it would send out the right message."

"So let's do it then." Aro agreed.

As they arrived at the repair area, Tyler Crowley was standing there surrounded by cars. All had boot shaped dents in the left hand front door.

"It's unbelievable." He shouted at Aro above the noise of the factory floor. "Every goddamned fourth car. I've got all the foremen looking out for the people responsible, but I reckon it is someone different each time. We're never going to stop it without some help."

Aro radioed for Carlisle Masen to meet him in the repair area. It took about five minutes, but eventually he turned up, flanked by Edward and Emmett. Bella felt a bit sick, it was the first time she had seen Edward since that Thursday evening when he had helped her, and already they were on opposing sides.

Was she supposed to say anything to him, even acknowledge his existence? She decided to be quiet and follow his lead. If he said hello to her, she would be polite and respond. Otherwise, she would let Aro and Carlisle do all the talking.

"What's up?" Carlisle asked, gesturing at all the cars in the area.

"We seem to have a quality problem." Aro replied testily. "Every fourth car seems to have been kicked by the operators."

Carlisle smiled. "Surely you're not accusing my lads of deliberately ruining your cars?"

"Not at all." Aro replied. "I'm sure it was accidental. Which is why it's a shame that unless it stops I'll have to lay them all off." He smiled. "Unpaid."

Edward stared back. "I don't think any of us want that. Perhaps if you agreed to lay on two hours overtime tonight to repair the cars, then I can ask the guys to be extra vigilant in making sure all the cars are clean."

Aro turned to Bella. "What would you do?" He asked again.

Bella felt like she was sitting an exam. All eyes were on her. She looked over at Edward. His stare was distinctly unfriendly.

"I'd agree to it this time," Bella said, "but say that next time we have quality problems like that, there'll be layoffs."

Aro turned back to Carlisle. "You've got my answer."

"Fair enough." Carlisle said. "Let's hope that nothing else happens." with that, he turned and walked away, closely followed by his two deputies. Bella tried to look anywhere but at Edward's fine behind, but her eyes were drawn to his ass like a magnet.

"I'm sure you didn't mean that to be a threat." Aro replied shouted at them, causing them to stop and look back at Aro and Bella. She quickly tore her eyes away from staring at his muscled ass but the smirk on his face as he stared right back at her told her that he had caught her red handed. Or should that be red faced, she wondered as she felt the obligatory blush heat up her cheeks.

Aro turned to speak to Tyler. "Can you to stay here and sort out the overtime? I'm going to take a wander around the lines to see what's up. Why don't you join me Bella?"

She followed behind Aro, who was walking up the engine line. As she walked, she noticed that one of the laces on her boot was undone, and stopped to kneel down and do it back up. Aro carried on ahead.

As she stood up, she could see one of the ceiling mounted hoists, which carried the engines from the engine line over to the car, was swinging around dangerously. The clasp which attached the engine to the hoist wasn't done up properly, and the engine was about to come loose and fall to the floor, right where Aro stood.

Feeling a burst of adrenaline rushing through her veins, Bella cried out;

"Aro, watch out. The engine!"

Aro looked over at her for a milisecond, before looking upwards. The engine had finally come loose and was falling. Like a bolt of lightning, Aro darted out of the way, to the other side of the line.

The engine landed on the floor with a huge crashing bang, which echoed throughout the factory. The Engine line foreman immediately pressed the red button which stopped the line, and ran over to Aro. Bella was immobilized for a second or two, shocked at both the spectacle before her and the noise of the engine. Shaking her head a couple of times, as if to shock herself back to life, she ran over to join them.

"Are you okay?" She shouted at him, as he stood against the pillar, his face ashen.

Aro shook his head. "I think you just saved my life." He said to Bella, motioning over at the debris scattered all over the floor.

The Foreman pressed a button to lower the hoist, and examined the clasp for a minute. Coming back over to Aro he said, "There's nothing wrong with the clasp. Someone didn't do it up properly."

Aro frowned. "How can that happen?" He asked. "I thought this hoist was failsafe?"

"It is." The foreman agreed. "It was deliberately undone again. Someone intended for that engine to fall down."

"Jesus." Bella gasped. "They tried to murder you."

"I don't think so." Aro replied. "Their timing would have to be impeccable to do that. I think they just wanted me to be in the vicinity, to show me what they can do."

"They seem to have done quite well." Bella muttered, looking around. All the operators were deliberately ignoring the commotion, and bent studiously over their lines, doing their work. It was almost as if Aro and Bella didn't exist.

"Let's go back to the office." Aro said to Bella, grabbing her arm as he began to walk back down the line. "We'll talk about this there."

"It's just as I expected." Tanya stated as she walked into the conference room. She had obviously hear the commotion. "They've started their sabotage and they won't stop until they get what they want."

"Well we're not going to give it to them." Aro replied angrily, motioning to Tanya and Bella to sit down. "I want the two of you to come up with a strategy of what to do next, while I go and make a couple of calls."

"I wanted to talk to you about that." Tanya said. "Carlisle is not happy that Bella advised you on what to do on the factory floor. The Union think you've given her too much power. Unless you side-line her, you're going to have trouble."

"I've already got trouble." Aro looked Tanya in the eye. "A little more won't hurt."

As Bella joined Tanya, she noticed that the HR Manager was frostier than normal.

"Tanya, I know you don't like me but…." She began.

Tanya interrupted her. "It's not a matter of like or dislike. I just think that you're dangerous to the factory."

"In what way?" Bella frowned.

"The Union doesn't like you. The workers don't like you. They think you're powerful, think that you've got the ear of Aro Volturi. They're suspicious of you and as long as you're around there will be more sabotage."

"So how come Aro doesn't agree with you?" Bella questioned. She was pissed that Tanya was forever trying to get one over on her.

"He's from Head Office originally. He doesn't understand the culture here. He gets frustrated by the way we do things, and tries to run roughshod over everyone. It's my job to make sure he doesn't do it too often."

Bella sat there, pondering. "So you say that the Union feel threatened by me?"

"Yes."

"But you don't?"

Tanya coughed. "Er.. no. I don't. I just don't want you to cause more problems."

"Yes you do." Bella retorted. "You think it should have been you standing there with Aro this afternoon, advising him on what to do."

"Well it is my job." She snapped.

"Then do it." Bella shouted. "Start working for your pay. It seems to me that you just keep telling Aro what he can't do, rather than suggesting what he should do. Perhaps if we sit here and work out a strategy, we can make his job a little easier."

Tanya coughed again. "Let's get on with it then."

As they sat and talked about next steps, Tanya wrote down everything they said and started to draw it into a flow chart.

"I'll type this up and show it to Aro." She suggested, suddenly all sweetness and light. "Perhaps you can ask him to meet us here this evening. I'm going to be tied up until then in a disciplinary hearing."

"What time?" Bella asked, as they left the room.

"Say, about seven thirty." Tanya suggested. "It's not too late is it?"

"No, that's fine. I haven't got anything planned tonight."

"You might want to move your car before it gets dark." Tanya suggested. "It's not much fun walking through the car park at night."

"It's okay, I parked it near the entrance." Bella said.

"It's a nice car. Is it that silver BMW?" Tanya asked.

"Yes." Bella replied, wondering why Tanya was being nice to her again. Still, there was too much to do to start worrying about it.

Their meeting was nearly finished by ten o'clock. Aro appeared to like the strategy, and suggested that they discuss it with the rest of the management team in the main meeting, next Wednesday. He asked Bella and Tanya to draw it up into a PowerPoint presentation by then, so that everyone could follow it. Tanya suggested that she could do it.

"And one other thing." Aro said, as they began to walk through the factory and over to the car park. "I don't want anybody hanging around the factory on their own. Especially outside working hours. If you have to work late, you let me know in advance, and I'll make sure that security keep an eye on you."

"Fair enough." Tanya agreed. "I'll see you tomorrow, Aro." She called as he opened the door to his Detroit Chieftain, a four-wheeled drive car. Aro saluted back at them.

Bella turned to get into her car.

"Oh Bella!" Tanya called, out, before she could start it up. Bella got back out of her car and walked over to Tanya.

"Yes?" She asked.

"About that PowerPoint presentation." Bella looked over to see Aro driving away. She hoped Tanya wouldn't hold her up for too much longer.

"What about it?"

"Do you think a green background would be best, to represent the Logo colours?"

Bella stared at Tanya. What the hell did it matter? "Whatever you think." She replied, desperate to get home before midnight.

"Green it is then. See you later." With that, Tanya shut her car door and drove away. Bella walked back to her car, got inside and shut the door behind her. Putting the key into the ignition, she wondered what she would have to eat tonight. She didn't have very much in the fridge, so she would have to go for a takeaway again.

Turning the key, she was startled by the fact that no sound came out of the engine. No turnover of the starter motor, no clicking from the battery. Just, nothingness.

"Oh shit." She swore. Surely she couldn't have a flat battery? She hadn't left her lights on, and the car was too new for there to be anything wrong.

She pulled the lever that opened the hood and got out of the car.

Walking around to the front, she scanned the inside of the engine briefly, and despite having no great knowledge of mechanics, she could see what the problem was immediately. It was clear that there was a pretty huge gaping hole where the battery had once been. In fact, the battery had been there only that morning, when she had driven in to work as usual. So where the hell had it gone? Whipping her head up from the car, she looked around to see the red tail lights of Tanya's car disappearing up the road out of the factory estate.

She was alone. And without a battery. Who the hell would have done this to her? She guessed that it was connected to all the acts of sabotage, but she couldn't believe that anybody had sanctioned such an action. After all, it was only a few weeks ago that Edward Cullen had risked a lot to save her from being attacked.

That brought her back to earth with a bump. She was on her own in the middle of a deserted car park at ten o'clock at night. There was nobody who could help her in the factory - although the other shift was working, the supervision was always run on a skeleton crew to keep the lines running. Their next break wasn't until twelve thirty, and there was no way that Bella was going to wait two and a half hours for somebody to help her.

There was only one thing for it. She would have to call her Breakdown Cover and hope that they could send someone out quickly. Luckily she had the breakdown package that ensured she would be treated as a priority, as a lone female. But still, whoever had taken the battery out had clearly wanted to make sure she was put to maximum inconvenience, and they certainly seemed to have succeeded. Bella stared grimly at the engine one last time before shutting the bonnet with a hard slamming noise. She was determined that whoever had decided to piss her off would get paid back. They had better be looking out behind them, because the whole thing mightily pissed her off.


	8. Chapter 8

**CHAPTER 8 - The Witch and the Wardrobe**

The first thing Bella did when she got into work the next day was to march down to Aro Volturi's office. Determined to apprise him of the whole situation, she also wanted his advice on what she should do next.

"I'm afraid he's not here." His secretary told Bella as she walked into the vestibule. "He's been called to an offsite meeting with the Directors. He won't be back until tomorrow afternoon."

"Do you know what it's about?" Bella asked her.

"Not really, no." The secretary shrugged her shoulders. Bella walked into her own office, wondering what Aro was up to. She only hoped that the Directors were giving him some constructive help, rather than bawling him out for the whole production situation yesterday.

Bella booted up her laptop, and checked her emails. Amongst the dross there were three personal ones, two from the office in London, and one from Aro Volturi. She decided to read his e-mail first.

**_From: _**

**_To: ISwan _**

**_Subject: While I'm away..._**

**_Sent: 19/9/12 5.45am_**

**_Bella_**,

_**Have been called to Detroit by Big White Chiefs. Believe it has to do with sabotage situation, but will learn more today.**_

_**In my absence keep working on the presentation with T. D., and keep an eye on the shop floor. Can be contacted by mobile if absolutely**_ _**necessary**_.

_**Aro.**_

Bella smiled to herself. She always liked receiving e-mails from Aro, they were pretty to the point. She supposed it was an necessity, being as busy as he was. But still, she had to get on with her work - and the first thing she did was pick up the phone to Tanya Denali.

"It's Bella Swan." She said when Tanya answered. "Can we set a time for going over the final draft?"

"I'm pretty busy Bella." Tanya replied. Bella could hear her tapping away on her computer keyboard as she spoke. "I guess we can find a slot this afternoon. Why don't I come over to your office at three?"

"Fine." Bella went to put the phone down, but Tanya interrupted again.

"Did you get home okay last night?"

"Yeeesss." Bella said slowly. What did Tanya know about last night? She had been long gone by the time Bella had realised her car battery had disappeared.

"Good." Tanya replied. Perhaps it was Bella's imagination, but she thought Tanya's voice had a tone of regret in it.

Putting the phone down, Bella propped her elbows on the table and rested her chin on her upturned palms.

Thinking back to yesterday, Bella could remember the conversation that she had with Tanya as they were leaving the conference room. She had casually asked her about her car, and Bella - rather stupidly - had volunteered the make of the car and its location in the car park. It can't have taken a lot for Tanya (or one of her lackeys) to get into the bonnet and disconnect the battery.

"And she made sure that Aro had left the car park before I found out." Bella whispered to herself, remembering Tanya calling her over to ask her that inane question about background colours for the presentation.

But why did Tanya have a personal vendetta against Bella? It was obvious that she had been pissed off when Bella was brought in above her head, and put in her old office. But Bella had thought that they had worked that issue through. Of course, she never imagined that she and Tanya would ever become the best of friends, but surely doing something like deliberately stranding a female in a deserted car park late at night was more than just vindictive? It was downright cruel.

Deciding that she would just depress herself if she sat in the office all day thinking about getting revenge on Tanya, Bella decided to wander down to the factory floor. At the very least, she wanted to take a look at the state of the repair area. She wondered if they had managed to clear the floor of all the dented cars.

The first person she saw there was Edward Cullen. Bella stood and watched him for a brief minute, as he was talking to Tyler Crowley, laughing and joking with him. Somehow, he seemed to be different to Emmett McCarty and Carlisle Masen. Edward was not only more articulate – proved by the meeting they had a couple of weeks ago – but he seemed to laugh more often too. Bella quite liked that.

"Hi." She walked over and addressed both Tyler and Edward at once. Tyler turned around and smiled at her warmly.

"All right?"

"Yeah." Bella said, smiling back at him. She was beginning to feel accepted here. "How's the repair situation?" The repair area seemed to be slightly emptier than yesterday, but it still looked fairly fractious.

"We're getting there." Tyler muttered, before being called off to yet another emergency breakdown on the trim lines.

She was alone with Edward. Bella smiled at him, feeling slightly shy. "I never thanked you properly for what you did."

Edward shrugged his shoulders. "It's forgotten."

"Not by me." Bella began to walk with him towards the canteen. Checking her watch she could see it was five minutes until tea break. "Anyway, I wanted to have a quick word with you."

"What about?" Edward looked genuinely puzzled.

"You told me to come to you when I wanted to find out the hidden agenda."

"And _do_ you want to find out?" Edward had stopped walking, and was stood a little way back from her. His arms were folded and he had a strange expression on his face. He looked almost pained, but she couldn't think what she had done to cause that.

"I think so." Bella replied softly. So much had happened in the past few days, it was hard to say what she wanted. But with Tanya Denali apparently wanting to make her life a misery, Bella wanted to know exactly where she stood. And she wanted to spend time with Edward. Alone.

"Well we can't talk here." Edward scanned his eyes around. Even now, a few people had stopped work and were watching Bella talking to him. It wasn't doing his reputation much good.

"Where then? When?" Bella could feel herself starting to get agitated. She hated being kept in the dark.

"Tonight." Edward sighed, his facial expression looking more gentle than it had in the last few weeks. "Meet me at the Twilight Bar at eight. And for God's sake, stop coming down here. You're going to get hurt." With thatgone stalked away on his long, tightly muscled legs. Bella stood and watched his retreating back for a while. She didn't even know where the Twilight Bar was.

* * *

Tanya Denali turned up to Bella's office as agreed that afternoon. Bella had been trying to decide how she would approach the meeting, but the memory of the gaping hole in her car where the battery should have been only succeeded in making her feel fucking furious. What the hell was Tanya playing at? All morning Bella had been getting more worked up at the thought of it. She was almost certain that it was Tanya's intervention that had led to the situation last night. But how should she approach her with her accusations?

"Right, I only have an hour, so lets get this show on the road." Tanya said tersely, plugging her laptop into Bella's screen. "I've done a draft copy of the presentation. I decided not to go with the green logo in the end, it didn't make the words pop out enough."

Bella swallowed, knowing that this was the perfect segue way into what she needed to say. "Talking of our discussion last night, just after you left I discovered that someone had taken the battery out of my car."

Tanya stopped what she was doing and looked up at Bella. The expression on her face bore no hint of surprise or shock. It was almost calculated in its blandness. It only served to confirm what Bella had already known deep down inside. Tanya was responsible for the sabotage of her car.

"And it's funny," Bella continued, "because only earlier that day you had asked me what type of car I had and where I had parked it. And you made sure that Aro had left last night before I even attempted to start the car."

Tanya's demeanor did not change. She continued to stare back at Bella with a blank face, giving away no hint of what she was feeling inside. She was a tough nut to crack. And boy did Bella want to smash that lovely, calculating face of hers.

"I know you'll never admit that it had anything to do with you, but the fact is that I _know_ that you did it." Bella's voice was raspy. She held her hands tightly at her sides, her fingers curled into fists, aching to make contact with Tanya's cheekbones.

Still nothing. No word, no response at all from Tanya. Bella wanted her to say something, anything that would allow this to move from monologue to dialogue. But Tanya was too well trained in dealing with problem people – she knew when to shut up and say nothing at all to diffuse a situation.

"Aaargh." Bella screamed out, frustrated. "I know that you'll never admit it." She leaned close to Tanya, so their faces were only a matter of inches apart. "But hear this. If you ever do something like that to me again, I will hurt you. I don't mean just emotionally. I mean I will _physically_ hurt you."

After a deep intake of breath, Bella turned her gaze to look at the screen in front of her. "The colors look good. Not too bright, but enough to stimulate the optical nerves."

Nothing more was said of the matter. Satisfied that all danger had passed, Tanya joined in the discussion with Bella about the best way to present their strategy.

Later that day, about an hour before she was due to leave the office so she had enough time to get ready and meet Edward, Bella decided to take one last walk around the Factory floor to see if the atmosphere was still as bad as it was yesterday. She could see Tyler Crowley across the way, his hand gripping his radio tightly as usual, barking orders into it, obviously bawling out some unlucky foreman. She gave him a slight wave, and he touched his fingers to his forehead, saluting her back, before continuing his tirade.

The stares that followed her around the floor seemed less pointed than yesterday, and she hoped that the hatred felt towards her by the workers was dissipating somewhat. Although she was sure that things would get worse before they got better.

"What the fuck are you doing down here?" Edward grabbed her, pulling her towards a cupboard built in to the factory wall. "Get in here". The feeling of his hand holding on tightly to her soft bare skin affected Bella more than she liked. Once again, she could feel the soft downy hair on her arms standing on end. She couldn't even bring herself to struggle against his harsh touch, so grateful was she to finally get some skin to skin contact.

"What?" She replied softly, staring up at him, trying to calm herself down before she made a fool out of herself again.

"You shouldn't be here. It's dangerous." He murmured, running a single finger across her cheekbone. His mercurial mood had shifted again, he changed his mood more often than a whore changed her panties. She wanted more. She wanted his hands on her face, on her body, all over. But they were enemies, on opposing sides. She knew he would never choose her above his workers.

"What is it Edward?" She frowned. The cupboard was small. Filled with cleaning equipment, there was just enough room for both their bodies, as long as they were pressed together tightly. There was no personal space allowed. Not that she wanted it; her body craved this closeness, the feeling of his hot skin against hers.

"You aren't safe down here. You saw what happened with the Engine yesterday. You can't be down here." His tone was imploring, his finger still gently touching the skin on her face. She could feel the blood rushing to her cheeks, warming them into an embarrassed blush. She loved the way he touched her as if she were a piece of precious glass. She closed her eyes, allowing the feelings to take over her.

"I work here. I have to come down here." She whispered, wishing she knew how he was feeling. Did he feel this connection too?

"Please." He used his finger to tip her chin up, so that his eyes could capture hers. Her lips felt dry, too dry, she wet them gently with the tip of her tongue, watching his expression change as his eyes were glued to her mouth, her tongue.

"It's my job." She tried to explain. Part of her would do anything that he asked of her. She already felt like he owned her body, even if he was trying to deny the connection. But the other part of her needed this job, needed to show everybody at Graysons that she could take on a challenge and succeed. She fisted her hands to stop them from touching him back. Whilst she was aware of her own feelings for him, she did not know what he was thinking. Was this a power play? Was he trying to show her who was boss? Regardless of the way he made her body shiver, she wasn't going to let him win.

"I couldn't stand it if something happened to you." He murmured, his eyes never leaving her face. His thumb was running along her lip, mirroring the action of her tongue from a few moments ago. "This is killing me."

Bella stared back at him, feeling wonder at the way he was talking to her. She hardly knew him really, just a quick make out session in a bar, followed by antagonistic meetings at work, but the attraction between them was so strong that neither of them appeared to be strong enough to deny it.

"What is this?" She asked him, hoping desperately that he may have more insight than she did into their situation.

"I don't know." He whispered, his thumb still on her lip. Without thinking, she darted her tongue out to taste him, then sucked his whole thumb into her mouth. He moaned at the feeling of her sucking and licking at him. As she reluctantly released his tongue from her mouth, she hoped he would close the tiny gap that was left between them and kiss her the way she wanted to be kissed, hard and fast and with the promise of much more.

Instead he carried on talking. "Whatever it is, it can't happen. We're on different sides. You're management, trying to screw the workers for every penny you can get. I'm here to protect them, make sure that you don't exploit them more than you already do." Finally he broke their gaze, looking down at his shoes, the floor – anywhere but at Bella. "You need to stay away from me. I'm dangerous for you."

"What if I don't want to ?" Bella replied, aware that her voice was deep and throaty. She felt like she was going to cry. Aro Volturi and Tanya Denali could open up the door right now, and she still wouldn't let Edward move away from her.

"It's the right thing to do." He grimaced as he continued to look anywhere but at her.

"This is so unfair." She sighed, finally unfisting her hands and wiggling her fingers. She had been holding them closed so tightly that they had started to cramp. "I like you, I think you might like me. Why can't we just be friends?"

Edward swallowed loudly, and finally allowed himself to look at her. "Friends?" He smiled gently. "I guess maybe we could try to be friends. What do friends do?" He looked confused, making Bella smile.

"I don't know, I guess they hang out together, shoot the breeze. Play some pool."

Edward barked out a laugh. "I'm not sure that will go down too well with the Union members."

Bella shrugged, mentally congratulating herself that he hadn't given her an all-out 'no.'. "Well we don't have to go anywhere that they will spot us. There's plenty of bars in Michigan. Not to mention restaurants, cafes, diners…" She smiled at him again, finally allowing her right hand to move softly against the side of his body, feeling the heat of his skin touching hers through the thin material of his shirt. "And my place."

"Your place." He mused, closing his eyes as her hand moved up his body, tracing the outline of the muscles on his abdomen.. "God, that feels unbelievably good."

"I can make you feel even better." Bella couldn't believe how brazen she was being, touching him, making suggestions, just managing to hold herself back from rubbing herself all over him like a cat.

He laughed again, running a hand through his thick mop of bronze hair. "I bet you could." He moved slightly away from her. "But not here. We're at work, and just outside of this door are about a thousand men who are out for your blood."

She shrugged, not caring about anything that was happening outside of this small cupboard. Just a simple touch from one of Edward's digits had made her body feel more electric than James had for the whole of their relationship. More importantly, Edward made her feel safe. He was a protector, he had shown before that he would never let anybody hurt her. The only person who could hurt her was _him. _

"I'll see you tonight." He grinned at her, allowing himself one last touch of her face before he moved away to open the cupboard door. "Give it a minute before you leave. It wouldn't do either of us any good for somebody to spot us leaving together." He turned back towards her one last time, "Tonight." It was a statement. It was a promise. It was heavily laden with meanings that Bella was trying desperately to understand.


	9. Chapter 9

**CHAPTER 9**

Handing the driver ten dollars, Bella got out of the taxi and on to the pavement. She was dropped off directly outside the Twilight Bar, which was full of rowdy revelers, desperate for a fun night out. She thought that if she stood there for long enough, she could probably see the walls start to pulsate in time with the sounds of music and shouting which were emanating from the bar.

Pushing the door open, she was immediately greeted by the steamy atmosphere and smell of perspiration, causing her eyes to water momentarily, as they got used to the air inside. In the bar the music was almost deafening, although the loudness of the base meant that she could not recognize what song was playing over the loudspeakers. Looking up at the wall, she could see a poster advertising tonight's entertainment. 'The Prodigals' were playing live in the club room tonight, and though Bella was standing in the bar area, she could still hear every sound.

The Twilight had the look of most other pubs Bella had been to in her short time in the Midwest. It had a mixture of students from the local University, young workers who came here before moving on to a club, and some older locals who enjoyed getting out on a Friday night. Bella wondered which category she would fit Edward in to.

She glanced around the bar to see if she could see him standing there. The serving area was like a square in the middle of the room – and bar staff, wearing red t shirts bearing the pub's name, were running up and down the length of the bars to serve the masses of people waiting somewhat impatiently. Bella decided to get herself a drink before trying to find Edward, she felt like she needed a bit of Dutch courage to walk alone through a bar like this.

"Bottle of Becks please." Bella ordered when one of the staff finally came over her way. Within thirty seconds she had the bottle in her hand and had handed over five dollars of her hard-earned wages. Taking a deep drink of the beer, she glanced at her watch and saw that it was already quarter past eight. She had deliberately arrived a little late, not wanting to have to stand around waiting for him. It was time to hunt her prey.

It wasn't easy pushing her way through the crowds of people that had amassed in the bar. Every few seconds she found herself muttering 'excuse me' as she had to rub herself against yet another leery student, who seemed to take great pleasure in making it as difficult as possible for her to squeeze through the gap.

Edward was nowhere to be seen in the bar area, so she decided to take a look in the club room. As soon as she walked through the two doors that led her there, the increase in volume was palpable. She could feel her heart beating in time to the base guitar, and looked up to see a five piece band playing on the small stage in the corner of the room. They seemed to Bella to be trying to sound like a cross between Foo Fighters and The Kings of Leon. Still, they didn't seem to be making too bad a job of it.

Looking up at the bar, Bella saw Edward talking to a small, dark haired woman, who Bella guessed looked about thirty years old. She was quite pretty, and for some reason that pissed Bella off. This was supposed to be a business meeting, and Edward was using it to get off with other women in the pub.

She could feel herself hesitating. Should she go up and butt in between the two of them, or wait for a while until there was more than five inches between their faces? Even when she used to meet James in a restaurant or pub, he always made sure he was standing alone, and always looked out for her, so that as soon as she walked through the door, he would come up to her, take her coat off and order her a drink. Not that she expected Edward to buy her a drink, or even take her coat for that matter, but it would at least have been gentlemanly for him to look out for her.

Feeling indignant, she decided that it was time to break the scene up. Holding her cold bottle of beer tightly in her hand, like a talisman to ward off any potential problems, she strode up and said, "Hello." Nice and simple – she was proud of herself.

"Bella." Edward looked up, his expression slightly surprised as he took her clothes in. She looked down at herself – she was wearing an old pair of Levis, a tight white tee-shirt with a black jumper loosely tied around her waist. She supposed he wasn't used to seeing her dressed down, only ever having seen her wearing a suit, a clubbing outfit and a fluffy dressing gown.

"Er, this is my sister, Lucy." He motioned at the dark haired woman standing next to him. "Her husband's the lead singer."

Bella eventually realized he was talking about the Prodigals, who were playing in the corner. Not being able to think of anything interesting to say, she just nodded and said, "Oh."

"Hey Bella." Lucy seemed to have a much broader accent than her brother. "I hear you work at Fairhaven."

"Only for a little while." Bella smiled, wondering how much Lucy knew about why she was here.

Lucy moved in to whisper to her, so that Edward could not hear. "Well, I'm glad you're here for a while. I've not seen Edward looking happy for a long time. In fact, you're the first woman he's introduced me to since his divorce."

Bella stood there and wondered how much Edward had told her about the situation. How did she explain to her that she was there for business only, and he was probably happy because he had her right where he wanted her – begging for information? Musing on it for a couple of seconds, Bella decided that it had to be easier to say nothing, and just smile sweetly, which she did.

"Anyway," Lucy hastily picked her bag up off the bar and grabbed her drink. "I must go and meet my husband. They're about to have an interval."

Bella turned around to look at Edward. "I think she had the wrong idea about us."

"She can't stand to think of anybody being single. It goes against her nature." Edward shrugged.

Bella raised her eyebrows. She didn't want to start talking about relationships. She had deliberately avoided thinking about or quantifying her feelings for Edward, and she was also aware that since her departure from Seattle things between her and James had been left hanging. It was an awkward situation, and one that she didn't want to face without the dutch courage of at least five glasses of wine. Anyway, she was here to find out what Edward knew about the Fairhaven situation, not to exchange pleasantries with him and every member of his extended family.

"Shall we sit down?" She gestured to a small table in the corner, perilously near the stage, but at least they would have some peace and quiet for the fifteen minutes that the band took a break. After hearing what Edward had to say, Bella hoped to get back home in time to catch up on the Homeland episodes she had saved on her TIVO.

The table where they sat, which couldn't have been more than two foot in diameter, was completely covered in empty glasses. For one moment, Bella wondered if she should try to clear it a little, so that she could at least see Edward's face over the Glass Mountain. On second thoughts, remembering the one night that she worked as a glass collector at a University bar, she decided against it. That night was still talked about in the UDub Bar – the infamous glass massacre, when the dishwasher had been opened up, only to find that over a hundred glasses had smashed into tiny pieces, which tumbled out of the machine on to the floor. After two hours of cleaning up little shards of glass, the bar manager had suggested to Bella that if she ever came to work again, he would have no choice but to perform a delicate operation involving the broken glass, a pair of forceps and Bella's rear end.

"They're not bad." Bella gestured at the band, as they were putting their instruments down. Somebody had loaded up the jukebox and, as if to make an ironic statement, had put the Backstreet Boys on.

"They're okay." Edward agreed. "A bit too derivative to make it big though."

Bella shrugged. "Aren't most bands derivative?"

"Yeah, but to be derivative of a derivative band is taking it too far, don't you think?"

"I guess so." Bella had finished her bottle of Becks. She wanted to get the conversation over with quickly, but she also felt the need to get completely pissed. Why not combine the two things at once? "I need another drink. Do you want one?"

"I'll get them."

Edward wandered over to the bar and bought the drinks. As he was walking back to the table, Bella decided that her first line was going to be "So what information do you have that I should know?"

She looked at him, sitting gracefully down on a bar stool, and suddenly felt nausea rising up her stomach. Although she had obviously noticed before that he was pretty tall and muscular, tonight his features seemed sharper, more real than before. She studied his face from afar – the straight nose, the green eyes and the darkness around his cheeks where stubble was just beginning to show, and wondered why she reacted in such a strong way towards him. On top of this he was on the other side, verboten, off limits. This only increased her level of attraction to him.

"When did you get divorced?" She asked him when she had sat down and taken a sip of beer, her planned opening line already forgotten.

"Last year. It was pretty messy."

"Why?" Bella knew she was being nosy, but didn't feel guilty about it. If he didn't want to tell her, he could always change the subject.

"Why was it messy, or why did I get divorced?" Edward teased her.

"Either." She responded, smiling at his answer, before qualifying herself, "Both."

"We got divorced because we weren't in love. And it was messy because we've got two kids. Plus her father is a district official for the Union. At one point he threatened to chuck me out of my job as deputy leader."

"But he didn't."

"No. Carlisle told him to shove it up his ass. No local union likes the officials to get involved in their daily business. It makes them look ineffective."

"Is that why you joined the Union, because of your father in law?" Bella asked him. Looking over to the corner by the stage, Bella could see Edward's sister talking to the lead singer – Bella gathered that he was her husband. They were both looking over at Bella and Edward. She could just tell that Lucy was talking about them.

"Not really. I became a Union leader because I couldn't stand the fact that the workers were being exploited by the capitalist pigs." His lips curled up slightly, making Bella wonder whether he was being ironic.

She had tried to imagine what it was like being a production worker, as she watched them carry out the repetitive tasks that led to a car being mass produced, but found such a job inconceivable. How on earth did they drag themselves in to work every morning, knowing exactly what they were going to be doing for every second of the day? She guessed it was only the money that kept them going.

"Did you ever think about getting a different job?" She asked him, trying to stop herself from looking at his denim clad thighs, which were close enough for her to reach out and touch. But she wasn't going to touch. She wasn't.

"I've always had a thing for cars." He shrugged, the half smile still on his face. "And this was where I felt I could make the most impact."

Bella dragged her eyes away from his body. Silently she repeated her mantra, "Work is work. Work is work. Work is work." Perhaps it would be more useful than when she used it last time - the night she first slept with James.

"Anyway, you came here for a reason." Edward said abruptly.

"Yes." Bella muttered, feeling her cheeks get hotter.

"Then let's get on with it."

She opened her mouth, then shut it abruptly. The band started playing again, the sudden change in volume made her feel breathless.

She started on her fourth bottle of beer. It was becoming harder to keep one expression up for long, the laxity of her muscles was making her feel like one of those old men at the circus who made stupid faces for a living.

"Do you want to dance?" The words were out of her mouth before she had absorbed them.

"What?" Edward frowned.

She sat back quickly, feeling like she had stepped over an invisible line. The silence that fell between them made her want to do something, say something that would stop her looking quite as stupid as she did now.

"Oh nothing. I just like dancing, that's all." She muttered quietly, as if that would make everything better.

"Oh."

"Don't you like dancing?" Every bone in her body was screaming at her 'you're making it worse, you stupid cow'.

"Sometimes. Depends on the music and the occasion." Edward took another sip of his beer. Bella watched him sheepishly. Her face was burning now, she just knew she had gone bright red.

"So what is it you wanted to tell me?" She shouted over the music.

"Nothing." He shouted back abruptly.

"What?" Bella sat forward. "But you told me to meet you here."

"Yeah, but not because I wanted to tell you anything."

"Why then?" Bella thought that petulance definitely wasn't a virtue.

"Because you want to know something." Edward sat back and crossed his arms tightly over his chest.

"Only because you said I did!" Bella was indignant. "That's so fucking typical, trying to tie me up with your words." She swigged her beer petulantly.

"Look." Edward said calmly. "I just want to get this straight. I have some information. You want to know what it is. That's the dynamic here."

"Then for god's sake tell me." Her TIVO seemed suddenly more appealing than listening to Edward fucking Cullen trying to dominate the conversation. He was so bloody infuriating.

Edward put his beer down, and stood up slightly, pulling his chair nearer to Bella. "You think you're here to find efficiencies in the plant, right?"

"I know that's why I'm here." Bella replied testily.

"We have tried about ten times to have a meeting about plant profitability, but Volturi has refused to show us the figures."

"Maybe they wanted to make sure there was a trend." Bella replied.

Edward smiled. "So how come we don't get to see the figures until they reach rock bottom, and there's no choice but to make efficiencies? How come we get a week to respond to figures that cover six months?"

"The financial report referred to the last quarter. You can't tell people they're not making a profit until the quarter is finished." That one was easier. Basic business school stuff. Bella smiled, and wasn't too worried about looking smug.

"But we made a loss the previous quarter as well. And the only information we've ever been given until now is that 'we are doing okay'."

Bella looked at him, frowning slightly. "The figures were really a surprise to you?"

"Yes!" He said, slamming his drink down on the table. "We were asking for improved conditions. Do you really think we'd be that stupid if we knew there was trouble?"

"So why are the efficiencies a problem?"

"Because Volturi knows we could never accept them and face our members again. He's asking for too much. No union in the world would accept his conditions."

"But you don't have an alternative."

"There's always an alternative Bella."

"You can't strike." She replied. "It would give them no choice but to transfer production somewhere else. You'd never get it back again."

"Exactly." He replied, smiling like a teacher that has finally got the right answer from his backward pupil.

Bella motioned for the waitress to bring more drinks over. She felt like she needed another alcohol injection.

"So you're backed in a corner exactly where we want you?" She murmured, wondering what the next move would be.

"Maybe, maybe not. I wouldn't tell you anyway. You're on the other side."

Bella smiled. "I am being paid by Aro Volturi."

"What, personally?" Edward smiled back at her, his green eyed gaze capturing hers. "Maybe we can be more efficient if we make him take a pay cut."

"Perhaps you should all take a pay cut." Bella said. "You know that it's the best paid job around here. Have you ever considered that you workers may be pricing yourselves out of the market?"

"And have you ever considered that you're walking right into the hands of the Marxist dialectic?" Edward responded.

"What?" Bella's degree course hadn't included comparative philosophy.

"Marx says that capitalism will be the cause of its own downfall. Consumers want cheaper goods, so Companies make efficiencies, including cutting wages and making redundancies. Eventually, there won't be anybody left who can buy the goods, and the working classes will rise up."

"I think the last eighty years may have proved Marx wrong." Bella was surprised at how lucid she was feeling, despite the rivers of alcohol flowing through her veins.

"Ah, but a Marxist would argue that true Communism hasn't happened yet. When the revolution does come, then you will see Marx in action."

"I don't think that's going to happen. Not in Fairhaven, at least." Bella laughed. "You'd still be overpaid if we cut two dollars an hour off your wages."

"I sincerely hope," Edward said, "that you won't be suggesting that to Volturi."

Bella swallowed the last dregs of her beer. Looking up at Edward, she felt suddenly dizzy, and any words that could contribute to the conversation seemed to dry up on her tongue.

Edward frowned. "You okay?"

"I may have had one too many beers." Bella admitted, gesturing at the empty brown bottles lined up in front of her.

"Let's get some fresh air." Edward stood up and grabbed his jacket. Standing slightly behind Bella, he put his hands between her shoulder blades and guided her towards the door with surprisingly gentle hands. The crowds had thinned a little whilst they had been drinking, and Bella was grateful for the easy path out of the bar.

"Are you going to be sick?" Edward grabbed hold of her wrist and pulled her up the hill towards the side road lined with cabs.

"No. I'm not that drunk." Bella said, wishing that he would hold her hand instead of her wrist. "I just felt a bit light-headed."

"Take a few deep breaths." Edward slowed down his pace, allowing Bella to lean against a shop window as she took in huge mouthfuls of the fresh fall air. He stood right in front of her, his mouth in line with her forehead. She could feel his warm breath softly against her skin. Enjoying the feeling of the cold window against her cotton clad back, she closed her eyes and let her head tip back a little, so that it also rested against the glass.

Soft lips touched her own, hesitantly at first, then more firmly. Bella's eyes remained closed, as her arms wrapped around Edward's neck in a reflex-like action.

His hands lightly cupped her face, as he kissed her over and over. Bella lapped up his soft kisses, like a thirsty cat with a new bowl of milk. She pulled him closer towards her, so that their bodies were touching, and she pressed her groin against him, wanting to merge her body to his. Teeth clashed against teeth, tongues lashed tongues. His hard, passionate kissing was in total contrast to James' controlled, seducing embraces. She found herself kissing him back fervently.

A pause, Edward drew back. Bella's eyes were still closed, she didn't want to open them. Like a child that had been naughty at school, she didn't want to meet his eyes.

"Bella?"

She hummed softly in response.

"Bella, look at me." His voice was insistent. Not the sort of voice that you would disobey, she thought, as her eyelids slowly opened.

She smiled at him. "I still think you should take a pay cut."

His face was unsmiling. His bronze hair was slightly mussed, where her hands had caressed him. His mouth was smeared with what had remained of her lipstick. Bella took one look at him and realized that she was desperate to have him.

"Do you want to come back to mine?" He remained devoid of emotion.

"Yes." She replied in the same soulless tone. Probably slightly more than she wanted to push him down onto the pavement right then, and climb on top of him to ride him. But only slightly more.

This time he grabbed her hand. As they ran towards a cab, Bella couldn't tell who was the most eager.

The ride to his place was blurred in Bella's mind as a result of her climbing all over him in the back of the cab, kissing his face off and letting him roam his hands all over her body. She didn't get a lot of chance to look at the scenery.

Flinging twenty dollars at the driver, Edward climbed out of the car, practically dislocating Bella's arm in an attempt to bring her out with him. She tumbled out of the yellow cab, and walked with Edward to his front door. In the soft glow of the street lamp, she could see that his house was a two story detached cottage, surrounded by what looked like a well-tended garden. She was surprised, he seemed more like the type to have a bachelor apartment somewhere.

As he unlocked the door, he quickly pulled his key back out of the lock and pushed Bella inside. Grabbing hold of his hand, she dragged him in after her, and she laughed as he almost tripped over the mat as he entered his own home.

"Nice house." She said, as he began to kiss her again. She put her hands on his head, in his hair, gently tugging at the soft waves.

"Nice body." He ran his hands down her back. Pushing them up inside her cotton t-shirt, Bella shivered involuntarily at the touch of his skin against her own.

"Nice skin." She unbuttoned his shirt and touched his chest softly, feeling the softness of his flesh broken up by a smattering of coarse hairs.

"Nice tits." His hands had found their way around to the front of her body. He pushed her bra high up on her chest, leaving her breasts exposed. His fingers brushed softly against her nipples, making them instantaneously hard.

"Nice ass." She cupped his jean-clad buttocks, pulling him into her body, feeling a shock of pleasure as their bodies ground together. Their mouths seemed stuck together, as if the heat generated by their kissing had bonded them as one.

He pushed her backwards gently, so that she was half-lying on the stairs, at a forty five degree angle. His large insistent hands began to unbutton her jeans, as she pulled her own t-shirt and bra off. He moved on top of her, and they both gasped as their bare chests touched.

Bella was having difficulty undoing his belt. She wrenched it tighter, making him yelp in pain. Trying not to laugh, she let go and let him undo his own jeans. It didn't seem to dampen his ardor.

He kicked a couple of times to get his jeans totally off of his legs, and Bella pulled down his black boxers, letting her hands linger over his taut ass as she did so. Totally naked, Bella felt that now wasn't the time to show how good she was at foreplay. She was desperate to feel him move inside her and by the feel of his hardness, he certainly didn't need any helping along.

"Nice lubrication." Edward whispered as he stroked her gently. She could feel a pulse down there, beating hard, as if a clock was ticking away the seconds until he fucked her.

She guided him towards her, feeling his cock stretch her as he pushed slowly in, then moved back again. Bella's eyes were wide open as she grabbed his ass, moved him back into her again, gasping as he filled her up to the hilt.

He paused before moving back again. His eyes caught Bella's. "Mmm, Nice."


	10. Chapter 10

She was pinned to the bed by the soft twelve-tog duvet and a touch of fear. Her limbs remained stonily still, a good six inches away from him. She remembered perfectly well who he was, although she couldn't help wishing that she'd drunk a few more beers. Enough to have incapacitated herself last night, or to have at least given her the bittersweet pleasure of not remembering who he was for a few moments longer.

Edward was murmuring softly. She opened her eyes a little – the pain remained compounded by embarrassment – and saw that he was still deeply asleep. He moved towards her and she cowered back, her bottom hanging off of the bed.

Options. She had to think about her options. Use her brain for once and become master of the situation. What did people normally do after one night stands?

She couldn't remember. It had been so long since she had the time or the inclination to sleep with anybody without being sure it was the real thing. Even James had taken her out about five times before stepping over the threshold. Maybe that was where she was going wrong; investing too much emotional energy in what was simply a fuck. Especially when the men were married.

Another moan, another shuffle of the body. Bella's left leg was now dangling out of the duvet, and she feared that any more movement would result in her falling out, waking Edward up to see her naked with legs akimbo on the bedroom floor. She was pretty sure that nobody could describe that as mastering the situation.

She had to think. Try and get past the fog that was clouding her hurting head, and work out how to extricate herself from the situation.

How quietly could she leave? If he was still in REM, then perhaps she had a chance of getting out of bed without waking him. But then, she would have to get dressed, and where the hell were her clothes?

The distance from the bed to the bedroom door seemed to measure miles in Bella's perception. She would have to walk the entire length of the room, then out into the hall and down the stairs, where she was pretty sure her clothes were lying in a pool of long gone excitement.

What if Edward woke up as she walked to the door, and was greeted by the site of her overgrown butt as he entered the land of the living? Even worse, what if he tried to talk to her, and she was forced to turn around and offer him a full frontal?

Exiting the bed wasn't an option she wished to follow. That left her with one other. To wait and see. That would involve patience and tenacity, and most of all the ability to talk to him when he woke. She wasn't sure if in her hung-over state, she would be able to co-ordinate herself that much.

Her mouth tasted of bitter alcohol and other substances. She wished she had brought her toothbrush with her. At least she might be slightly more appealing to him, if her breath didn't stink like a slightly rancid abattoir.

"What?" Edward shouted, and sat stiffly upright in the bed.

"Sorry?" She replied, shocked at the swiftness of his awakening.

He turned slowly to face her. He wore an appalled expression, like he had just woken up in bed next to a disgusting hermit, or his mother. Perhaps both.

"What's going on?" He whispered.

"Nothing." She replied, tugging at the duvet so that it covered her entire body, up to chin level. She felt completely naked, which she was.

"What did we do?" He asked her. Bella said nothing, assuming his question to be purely rhetorical.

"Have you been here all night?" He tried again.

"No, I was just out for my Sunday constitutional and decided to break in and lie naked next to you." She half smiled and then quickly covered her mouth with her hand, fearing the smell of her breath.

Edward frowned, causing his forehead to crease up in five perfect lines. He pulled his left hand out from under the duvet, and checked his watch for the time. Perhaps he was wondering if Bella really did go for a walk every Sunday morning at eight forty five.

"Did we," Edward paused, rearranged his words, "I mean did anything," pause again, this time taking a deeper breath, "What did we do?"

"We fucked." Bella interrupted, clasping the duvet tightly, as he shuffled, and displaced the covers.

"I thought so." He smirked.

"Don't you remember anything?" She asked, wondering whether she should feel insulted.

Edward swallowed audibly. "It's coming back to me."

She smiled. "So you remember us fucking on the pavement and getting arrested for disturbing the peace?"

Edward looked shocked momentarily, before registering her smile. He groaned and pushed his head back under the pillow. His embarrassment was making Bella feel slightly better. At least she wasn't the only one with regrets.

She turned and stared at the door. No matter how embarrassed he was, she still wouldn't trust him to ignore her naked body as she made a run for it.

"I don't suppose you have a glass of water?" She asked, looking at the lump under the duvet for some form of response.

"No." Edward muttered, not moving an inch.

"Just thought I'd ask." She huffed. He wasn't helping here.

There was nothing to it. She was going to have to climb out of the trench and face the enemy. Or rather, let the enemy face her ass. Was he the enemy?

She sat up slowly. The duvet fell from her body, exposing her chest. At the same moment, Edward had clearly felt a pang of conscience, and surfaced from the covers, just in time to come face to face with her breasts.

"Oh God!"

Bella quickly snatched the duvet back again. There was no point telling him she was decent now. It would be a downright lie.

He peeked again. Seeing the coast clear, he emerged again, and lay on his left side to look at her.

"I'm really sorry if I've upset you." He said, sounding much calmer. "I just don't usually do this sort of thing. Well not recently anyway."

"Me either. You don't know how stupid I feel, usually I only sleep with men after I've been out with them a few times, not that I've slept with a lot of men of course, although I'm not totally inexperienced. I mean, I reckon I'm probably at about average. I wish I could shut up."

For the first time, Edward smiled. She felt a pain in her stomach when she realised why she slept with him the night before. Despite, or perhaps because of, his nakedness, and his messed up hair, she still really fancied him.

He opened his bedside cabinet and pulled out a pair of navy blue boxers. Wriggling around under the duvet, he managed to put them on without exposing too many parts of his body.

"I'll go and get us a coffee." He suggested, standing up. Seeing his body without the air brushing provided by her alcoholic haze, she was still taken aback. He had the body of a man who labors for a living, with taut skin stretched across the muscles on his torso and arms, and lean, hard legs. His skin was pale, but the smattering of light brown hair provided some color. If Bella had only a little of the alcohol left in her bloodstream, she probably would have pulled him back on the bed.

"Could you get my clothes while you're there?" She said, hoping to God that her underwear was clean and not too old.

He opened his mouth to speak, but was drowned out by the loud screeching of his mobile phone, on the bedside cabinet next to Bella.

Running around the bed, he picked it up on the third ring, assiduously careful not to touch any part of Bella's body with his own.

"Hello?" Bella watched the muscles in his cheek as he talked into the mouthpiece. She could hear some talking on the other end – it sounded like a woman – but could not make the words out.

"How is he?" His eyebrows knitted together, and his voice sounded deeper than Bella remembered.

The person on the other phone talked for a few more seconds, then Edward said, "Where are you?" Followed by, "I'll be there in half an hour."

Dropping his phone back down, he looked at Bella, his face ashen. "Carlisle is in hospital. I've got to go."

Bella looked back, appalled. "Oh God, how awful. You go now, I'll let myself out." She had only met the Union Leader a couple of times, but the thought of anybody she knew being in hospital was sickening.

"I can drop you off. It's on my way to the hospital." Edward said, whilst opening his chest of drawers and pulling out a myriad of clothes.

Bella knew that if she agreed, she would have to expose her body to him. And as bad as she felt about his predicament, there was no way she would do that.

"It's okay, really. I'll get myself home, you just hurry up."

Edward shrugged. "Whatever." Pulling a sweater over the top of his t-shirt, and grabbing a pair of trainers from under the bed, he walked towards the door.

"Listen, Bella?" He looked back at her over his shoulder. "I'm sorry about everything. I'll try and talk to you sometime this week, okay?"

"Okay." Bella whispered, knowing that he didn't mean it. He didn't have her home phone number, and there was no way that he would risk talking to her at work. Listening to the sounds of him running down the stairs, and opening the front door, Bella slowly sat up in the bed. The frenzy of the last few minutes had done nothing to diminish her hangover.

Gingerly, she put her feet down on the carpet and stood up. As she walked towards the door, she heard the front door slam shut, but the anticipated feeling of relief didn't flood through her. Instead, she just felt hung over and foolish.

Bella slid the key into her front door lock, and turned it smoothly. It was a strange feeling, coming home so early – or perhaps so late. Flinging the door wide open, she saw that everything was the same as she left it. Her laptop case was propped neatly up against the wall, there was an old coffee cup on the table, and yesterday's newspapers were on the floor, next to her favourite chair.

In the right hand corner of the room, the red light on her answer phone was flashing. The frequency of the light change told her that she had two messages. She strolled over and pressed the play button.

"Bella, it's Aro. I'm back and we really need to discuss next steps for Monday. Are you free for lunch tomorrow?"

Irritated, Bella pressed the play button again. Maybe this one would be Edward. "It's Aro again. Why is your mobile turned off? Anyway, call me as soon as you're in. There's trouble with the Union."

Shrugging off her sweater, and putting her bag on the floor, she wandered into the kitchen and switched the kettle on. Edward had never made her that coffee he promised. She didn't suppose he ever would now. Not that she was particularly excited about tasting his coffee. It was the whole scene she wanted; the man making her coffee, them drinking it in bed together, then perhaps getting up and wandering around the shops, before a long alcoholic lunch at a smart bar in town.

Well, it beat a profoundly sober lunch with Aro Volturi, which let's face it; she was going to have to endure today.

She grabbed a cigarette out of her pocket, and lit it with the gas ring in the kitchen. It didn't taste as good as the one she'd had whilst waiting outside Edward's house for a cab, but it still wasn't bad. And she had to have something to do with her hands. It was either this or chips, and there was no way she wanted to put any weight back on again. Not when she had just shed it after her James Hunter affair.

Menthol cigarettes were the first step to her conquering her addiction, she decided. A four step plan, which involved going from menthol to Malboro Gold, from those to patches, and then to nothing. Except stuffing her face with chocolate bars, and constantly chewing her fingernails. Maybe smoking wasn't that bad.

The people in the apartment below were playing loud music, which was making Bella's furniture rattle, the glass making percussion noises that matched the musical beat. Aretha Franklin's dulcet tones were begging Bella to rescue her. Bella wasn't sure that she was up to doing any rescuing.

The piercing sound of her phone made her jump. She still wasn't used to the pitch of it, compared to Alice's mock antique phone in their Seattle home that made a dignified ringing sound.

There was no way she wanted to speak to Aro yet. Perhaps in an hour or so, once she had a chance to digest some breakfast, and not be so constantly thinking about Edward bloody Cullen.

It rang four times before the message clicked in. Bella stood in the archway between the kitchen and the lounge, and listened to her own voice telling the caller she was out.

The caller put the phone down as soon as the message had stopped. Bella wandered over and picked the phone up, to check her caller display. Unfortunately, the number was withheld.

It had to be Aro. Nobody else would try to call her this early on a Saturday morning. Unless it was Edward. Perhaps he wanted to let her know how Carlisle was doing, or maybe he wanted some company tonight. What the hell was she going to do tonight? Sitting in and watching a video seemed fairly unappealing compared to fucking the pants off the deputy union leader.

The bar, not far from Bella's apartment, was definitely Aro Volturi's sort of bar. Everyone sitting in their leather backed chairs, nibbling at their sandwiches and sipping at their martinis looked like they had dressed to impress, and much to Bella's disappointment there wasn't a blue collar in sight. Just some dark haired Alexes, and blond Catrinas and god knows who else. Aro would probably call it quaint, Bella decided.

"So how is the presentation going?" He asked her as he put her small glass of diet coke on the table in front of her. Bella prayed that her hands wouldn't shake as she went to pick it up, betraying the hangover that still ravaged her brain.

"It's finished. Tanya has the final copy for you at the factory."

Aro sat back and ran a hand through his thick hair. "Well, we're going to have to scrap it." His voice was quiet, and low pitched. "The bosses aren't happy with the current status. We have a deadline of two weeks to get the efficiencies agreed, or they'll close us down."

Bella gasped, and leaned forward intently. "Two weeks?"

He shrugged. "That's what they said, and I've no reason to doubt their sincerity."

"But two weeks?" Bella's hands were feeling around for a cigarette. "It's never going to happen. I know I haven't been at Fairhaven very long, but I've seen enough to know that nothing will ever get resolved in two weeks."

Aro motioned at a passing waitress and ordered a cheese sandwich. "Do you want anything?" He asked Bella.

"No thanks." The waitress wrote on her pad and meandered away.

Aro sipped his Perrier. "Two weeks is a challenge, I know. But we have very little choice."

Bella looked down at a stain on the beech wooden floor. It looked like blood. Perhaps the Sandford wasn't the epitome of gentility it attempted to be. She wondered what Edward was doing right now. Probably sitting by Carlisle's prone body, totally unaware that they were going to be dropping another bombshell at his door first thing Monday morning.

"And on top of all this, Carlisle Masen's dead." Aro said, sitting back and waiting for the bombshell to hit Bella.

"Dead?" Oh god, poor Edward.

"He died this morning. A heart attack, I think." Aro shrugged. "I hate to say it, but this could be a tactical advantage for us. They're going to be in total disarray."

"They have a deputy leader." Bella didn't trust herself to say his name.

"He's young. He's had Carlisle to lean on for the past few years. This time, he's on his own, and I think that I can beat him." Aro smiled. "I'm going to call an emergency meeting first thing Monday morning."

"But you can't!" Bella was appalled. "That's like dancing on his grave. It's not the done thing."

"I don't give a shit." Aro replied. The waitress returned with his sandwich, a massive doorstep, crammed with grated cheese. Aro picked up a quarter and rammed it into his mouth with gusto. "I've been given a job to do and I'm going to do it."

Bella tried to compose herself. She hoped that her cheeks weren't as red as she thought they were. Perhaps she should have worn a tee-shirt, instead of the cashmere sweater that she had put on after her shower this morning.

"Can't we wait until after the funeral?" She suggested. Rule number one, never criticise a strategy without an alternative. The James Hunter school of consulting taught her that.

"The funeral's on Tuesday. That means that we would lose two whole days' negotiating time. I can't work with that."

Bella thought quickly. "But you're going to lose a day anyway. Most people will go to Carlisle's funeral. So really, it's only Monday that's lost, and we can use that to make sure the entire team is ready for battle."

Aro finished the last crumbs of his sandwich. He was humming gently to himself. His tone was too low for Bella to work out what the tune was. She supposed it was one of the operas he professed to like so much.

"I guess that might work." He said. "But unfortunately the big bosses are going to be here on Monday. We have to meet with the boys then."

"What do you think the result will be?" Bella asked him, resigned to the pile of work she was faced with this weekend.

Aro shrugged. "If they're sensible they'll accept the efficiencies you suggested."

"And if they're not sensible?" she prompted.

"Then they take the consequences." Aro washed his sandwich down with the remains of his Perrier. "Now, there's a reason why I wanted to talk to you outside the office."

"What?" Bella wondered if she was about to get her marching orders. A few days ago, and she would have jumped at the chance of going back to Seattle, and Alice, and James. But now, the thought of leaving Fairhaven and all her unfinished business sent a chill up her spine.

"What do you think of Tanya Denali?" Aro asked.

Bella's face registered a level of shock. "Tanya? I don't really know."

"Come on. Enough of this polite bullshit, give me your raw point of view."

Bella tried to smile. "I suppose I haven't really clicked with her."

"What if I told you I thought she leaked more than a wool umbrella?" Aro said.

"To the union?" Bella raised her eyebrows. "I suppose I wouldn't be that surprised."

"I think she's got a thing for Edward Cullen. I saw them together last week, and they looked as thick as thieves." He cleared his throat, and put the glass to his mouth, before realizing it was empty. "Damn! Anyway, so yesterday, I get this phone call from Carlisle Masen, of all people, ranting and raving about our strategy for improving the factory."

Bella swallowed hard. This was why you shouldn't mix business and pleasure. Her mind was being fucked by a myriad of different feelings; jealousy that Tanya and Edward might be close, anger that somebody was leaking information to the union, and guilt that she herself had gotten _very_ close to the Union only last night.

She tried to compose herself and respond to Aro. "The strategy that I was working on?"

"Yep. And Carlisle knows far too much about it to be guesswork. And I think I'm right in saying that you haven't shown the presentation to anybody else?"

"No." Bella's mouth was wide open, it was only when the air completely dried it out that she realised she was gaping.

"Then there can only be one source. Tanya."

Bella frowned. "I think she tried to sabotage my car. The battery was gone, and Tanya was just too close for it to be a coincidence."

"She doesn't like the competition. If anybody gets too close, her power base is attacked." Aro growled angrily.

"So what are you going to do?" Bella asked him.

"I've requested a transfer for her. I can't sack her without proof, but I can get her out of my hair for a while." Aro smiled grimly. "She's been told to move down this week. We won't be seeing her at the factory again."

"Oh." Bella tried not to show her elation, but her shoulders felt much lighter than they did a few minutes ago. The one person who seemed to be impeding her attempts at efficiencies in the factory was leaving. She wondered if a performance of the Scottish Jig would be inappropriate at this moment.

"So we will have to go into battle without my lieutenant." Aro smiled, less grimly this time. "But, I think we'll survive."

This time, Bella grinned back at him. She checked her watch, and wondered if she had enough time to go shopping. She needed a new suit if she was going to go into battle with Aro. Especially if the enemy was the man she slept with last night.

"Listen, I've got to go, but can you meet me in the office first thing tomorrow?" Aro pulled his blue blazer off the back of his chair, and stood up. "Oh, and one other thing. I want you to come to the funeral with me. All the management team are going."

"But I hardly know Carlisle." Bella spluttered through a mouthful of diet coke.

Aro stuffed his wallet into his tan colored trousers. "It doesn't matter. You seem so keen to do the right thing. You're a member of the management team, and you should be at the funeral." He turned to walk away. "And anyway, since the battle lines will be clearly drawn by then, I think you'll find the rhetoric interesting."


	11. Chapter 11

**CHAPTER 11 - Striking Out**

The rain was beating hard on the roof of her BMW, like a constant drum roll. Bella sucked the last bit of smoke out of her cigarette, and chucked the stub out of her half opened window. Pulling down the mirror to look at her face, she applied a little more lip gloss and quickly smoothed down her hair. She tried to stifle her yawn – she had been up since six am this morning, and had showered and dressed herself with immaculate care.

She put up her umbrella as she got out of the car and locked it. Having spent half an hour blow drying it to meticulous straightness, there was no way she was going to let the rain turn her hair frizzy. If only she felt as good as she looked. Her stomach felt like it was constantly gurgling – half from fear, and half from anticipation. She had been longing to see him all weekend, but she was also afraid of having to face him, especially in the meeting that would decide Fairhaven's future.

Details of today's meeting had been leaked to the press that weekend – the headlines in the Times' Business Supplement had said 'Detroit gets Heavy.' This morning's Detroit Free Press, rather less subtly, screamed 'Not so Fair-Haven'. She had suffered a barrage of telephone calls all evening from concerned colleagues and friends. Thank god for answerphones.

"Do you work here?" The local television stations were camped outside the factory in force, and were trying to get any interviews they could, having been told by their producers to cover the scandal as juicily as possible.

"Not really." Bella mumbled as she pushed past them. All the hourly paid workers, noticeable from their green work trousers and their lighter green polo shirts, were enjoying their five minutes of fame, waving at the camera and making all the inane comments they could think of.

Up in Aro's office, the team was in full crisis mode. There were two people that Bella didn't recognize – both dressed in dark grey suits – and a spare chair where Tanya used to park her over generous ass.

"Bella, I'd like you to meet Marcus Fortune and Alec Rivers" Aro motioned at the grey men. "They're from the Board of directors."

Both men nodded at her, and pushed their glasses further up the bridges of their noses. Bella realised where Jasper Hale got it from – having heavy glasses and slippery noses was clearly a corporate standard at Detroit Motors.

"This is Bella Swan," Aro continued, "from Grayson Brown. She's been working on the efficiencies with us for the past couple of months."

"Ah, a consultant." One of them said, in tone that clearly didn't hold her in much esteem. "Will she be attending the meeting?"

"Yep." Aro replied, not seeing the need to give a reason.

Bella sat down quietly, and the meeting continued.

"We aren't going to put this up for negotiation." Aro stated. "They either accept the terms or we shut down. I can't see any way around it."

"But they won't accept the terms." Director number one said, she couldn't remember his name already. "We all know that to accept the terms would be suicide. We'd introduce the same efficiencies at every factory in the country."

Aro shrugged. "I don't think they have a choice."

"We can't afford to have strikes across the country. There may be overcapacity in your segment of the market, but we're up to our ears in orders for vans in Ypsilanti."

"Sympathy strikes are illegal." Bella interrupted. "The union wouldn't want to risk its immunity from prosecution."

Grey number two turned to stare at her. A second's silence was enough to make Bella feel uncomfortable. "We wouldn't be able to sue them. They could prove that the whole of the workforce was in a dispute over employment terms."

"Erm, has the Ypsilanti plant got constant orders for vans?" Jasper Hale stuttered. Bella felt the desire to grab hold of his hand, so that it wouldn't make the inevitable trip up to his glasses. Silently, she counted the seconds, one, two then inevitably his hand went up to his nose.

"This month, yes. We project a slight downturn as we run up to Christmas, but we don't have any complete schedules."

"Could we stockpile?" Jasper suggested.

"We won't have time." Aro interrupted. "As soon as they reject the offer they'll be out of here faster than Usain Bolt."

Bella took a deep breath and opened her mouth. "They can't walk out, it's illegal. They'll have to hold a secret ballot, and that could take up to a month." She kept one eye on the grey men, who nodded sagely.

"So we have time to stockpile?" Aro looked over at them.

"That's assuming that the people in Ypsilanti vote to strike anyway." Bella added. "Recent industrial disputes haven't spread out of one geographic region."

Grey number two coughed politely. "I think this is mostly irrelevant. We know that unless we save significant costs, then we will have to shut down the factory. We have discussed this with the Board, and they are adamant that the closure will happen at the end of this financial year."

Everyone was silent. Bella started to run her right hand through her hair, and then stopped, remembering that she wanted it to look perfect for the meeting. Jasper was chewing on the lid of his biro, actually he seemed to be devouring it, pulling at the plastic with his canines, pulling little blue strands out from the lid.

Aro stood up and helped himself to the coffee that was standing in a flask on the sideboard in his office. "I guess we just have to decide what we do in the event of a walkout."

"Greg Chambers from Public Affairs is here to deal with the media." Grey one said. "And I think we just have to tell Head Office as soon as anything happens. They can communicate with the other factories."

"It's a shame Tanya isn't here." Grey two added. "Most of the work will involve contacting the workers, telling them it is unlawful action and negotiating with the Union Leader."

"Deputy leader." Aro corrected him. "The Leader died yesterday."

Grey one smiled. "Ah yes, but that makes the deputy the new Leader, at least until another election can be held."

* * *

The new Leader was sitting on the left hand side of the conference table. He was flanked on either side by Emmett McCarty, and a thin, rat faced man that Bella had never seen before. Unlike Edward and Emmett, the new man was wearing a smart blue suit, grey striped shirt and a red tie. They were wearing workwear, as if in sympathy with the workers they represented. Bella suspected that they had dressed this way in order to appear more humble when they were inevitably interviewed by the news channels after the meeting ended.

"That's Garrett Forrest." Jasper whispered to Bella when she gestured at the new man questioningly. "He's the chief negotiator for the Car Manufacturing section of the Union."

Bella looked over at Garrett. Perhaps it was the sparsity of the flesh stretched over the bones of his face, or the tight small mouth falling below a thin straight nose, but he seemed to have a mean expression. He didn't move an inch as they all sat down on the other side of the conference table. He just sat and raised a mug of coffee to his purple-coloured lips.

Aro sat down and nodded at the Union side. "Edward. Emmett. Garrett." To Garrett's left, there was another three anonymous Union representatives. Aro didn't bother to even acknowledge their existence, leading Bella to believe that they were minions, of little consequence to the outcome of the meeting.

"Aro." Edward replied. Bella looked up and fixed her gaze on a bit of the wall just above his head. She wasn't ready to catch his eye yet. She swallowed heavily.

"Where's Tanya?" Emmett asked, looking around with his eyebrows knitted together.

"Tanya's been transferred." Aro replied tersely.

"A sacrifice for your incompetent management?" Garrett Forrest questioned. Bella thought she could detect a slight trace of a New York accent, ironed out by years of nice easy living.

"Another assignment." One of the grey boys added nervously.

Bella's let her gaze lower a little. Edward still looked the same as two days ago, although perhaps his hair looked a little neater – as if he had brushed it that morning. He was wearing a blue checked shirt, open necked, so that a small tuft of hair was escaping at the neck. She wasn't sure why she was surprised that so little had changed in the course of two days, but somehow Friday night already seemed like a world away.

Edward looked over at her and caught her gaze. He gave a small smile, which Bella found herself unable to return. He looked almost as embarrassed as she felt. But not quite.

"Coffee?" Jasper Hale had already poured himself a cup. Bella broke Edward's stare and smiled at Jasper.

"Better make it black."

"The weekend was that bad?" Jasper commiserated. He had been incommunicado, at his cabin at the lake, so while the rest of the team spent their entire Sunday drawing on flipcharts, Jasper had probably been sitting on a deckchair, trousers rolled up to his knees, reading the Detroit News.

"What weekend?" Bella whispered back.

Aro cleared his throat. "I've prepared a statement to read out to you. We will be releasing this statement to the Press at noon today."

"Very kind of you to let us know first." Garrett muttered.

"Detroit Motors makes the following announcement. Effective immediately, the following measures have been implemented to make the factory run more efficiently, and to improve its current financial state.

"We have agreed to make efficiencies both in the workforce, and in the way that the workforce are deployed in the factory. The details of these efficiencies are outlined in attachment one. Detroit Motors and the General Workers Union see this new deal as the best way to ensure the future of Detroit Motors within the region."

Every member of the Union side were furiously shuffling papers, trying to get their teeth into the details of the efficiencies. Aro and the other managers knew the details too well to have to look again. Bella, being the architect of most of it, didn't want to have to look at it again.

"It's that easy is it?" Garrett's voice was ominously low. "You give us your terms, and we accept them like good little boys."

"Like sensible men, yes." Aro interrupted. "Like a responsible Union that wants the best for its members."

"There's no way that we can deliver that." Edward slammed his papers down on the table. "How can we sell this to our members when you've given us nothing in return?"

"We give them employment." Jasper Hale had obviously taken a brave pill. "The alternative is closure. The options are as stark as that I'm afraid."

Garrett was slowly shaking his head. "Don't try and put this in black and white. There are always shades of grey."

"Not now." Aro replied. "The days of grey have gone. We're giving you a hard choice, I know, but these are hard times. Especially for Fairhaven. I don't want closure any more than you do. That's why I'm doing my best to come up with alternatives."

The silence in the room was punctuated by the muffled ticking of the boardroom clock. Bella felt her pulse beating in time to it. She shuffled in her chair, wishing that she could be somewhere else right now. Perhaps if she hadn't given Aro her proposals, they wouldn't be sitting here discussing closure. She looked to her right, and saw Aro's lined face set in a hard expression, his head remaining still as his shoulders moved up and down when he breathed.

Looking back over the table, she could tell that Edward felt ten times worse. His face had the expression of somebody who had seen their girlfriend in the arms of another man. Which, she supposed he had, in a way, except for the fact that she wasn't his girlfriend, and she was in the arms of management, not another man. Apart from that the analogy still stood albeit rather precariously.

"Gentlemen, now is the time to turn dirt into dollars." Aro broke the silence. "We can work together on this one. You just have to accept our terms."

Edward gulped the dregs of his coffee. Bella winced; it had to be stone cold by now.

"We don't accept your terms." Edward replied. "And I want this in the minutes. You never expected us to accept your terms. You all know they're unacceptable. I feel like we're actors in the Aro Volturi show." He slammed the proposals back down on to the table with a flourish. "As you planned, we will now walk out, and discuss our options, which of course, we don't have."

Edward stood up. Bella glanced up at him, and recoiled from the harsh expression on his face as he glared at her. She knew that he was aware she was the architect of the proposals, and as such a social and political pariah.

"This has to go to the top." Garrett leaned towards Aro. "If Fairhaven walks out, then so does the rest of Detroit Motors. The boys are going to be right behind us on this."

Aro smiled. "Do your worst. We'll bankrupt your union in a week."

"Don't threaten me." Garrett spoke through clenched teeth, and then walked through the door after his minions.

"It's a guarantee." Aro shouted at his retreating back.

Emergency conditions were quickly declared. Aro shouted out orders as the grey men called head office, and every other conceivable person involved in the Fairhaven difficulties. Their voices were so low as they talked into the phone receivers that Bella couldn't make out a word they said.

In Tanya's absence, Bella was assigned with the task of Employee Relations. First of all, she had to get the message to the workers before the Unions did. As Bella ran out of the door, Aro shoved a huge cardboard box full of pamphlets into her hands. Her knees nearly buckled under the strain.

"Ready printed." Bella muttered through gritted teeth.

"We have to give them our message in black and white." Aro riposted.

"I just wish it was a bit shorter." She staggered out of the room carrying the box. Her new suit was already getting covered in dust as the box rubbed against her jacket. If she had known she was going to be delivery boy as well as a consultant, she might have worn something a little more appropriate. Like a boiler suit.

She reached the stairwell that led down to the shop floor, and took a moment to decide upon her strategy for getting herself, and the pamphlets, down in one piece. Deciding upon the course of least injury, she put the box on the floor and kicked it down the stairs in front of her. The pamphlets might be damaged, but at least she would avoid mortal injury.

When she reached the bottom, the factory was shrouded in deathly silence. The lines were neither moving, nor did they seem to be likely to in the near future. Looking up, she could see that the factory was totally deserted. Where previously there had been two thousand men fixing metal to metal, now there was just the metal, hanging lonely and unmoving. It reminded her of The Special's song, 'Ghost Town.'

Leaving the box at the bottom of the stairs, she wandered over to the end of the line to see where everybody was. When she arrived, Tyler Crowley was already there, surrounded by his foremen.

"Come to see the rats deserting?" Tyler asked her as she approached. A couple of the foremen guffawed at Tyler's weak joke.

"Where is everybody?" Bella asked as she reached their little clique.

"They're at a mass meeting in the car park. The union called them out as soon as Edward gave them the nod." Tyler looked pretty miserable. "I'll never make this time up, even if the lines run at full speed for the rest of the week."

"Will they come back?" Bella wondered what she should do with the box of pamphlets. There was no way she could carry them back up the stairs.

"Your guess is as good as mine." Tyler was tapping the aerial of his short band radio against his front teeth. The noise reminded Bella of chinese water torture. Everything in this place had her nerves on edge today, and she wasn't sure how much more of this she could take. She needed some fresh air, away from the stale atmosphere of the factory.

"Are they at the front car park?" She asked.

"Yeah, by the main gate." Tyler was already tiring of this conversation, and turned around to joke with one of the foremen. Bella walked quickly to the front of the factory and through the main door to the car park.

When she got there, she was surprised at the sheer volume of people clustered around the little hill beside the car park. The rain was still lightly falling, but there wasn't a single umbrella in sight. There was no way her suit was going to escape damage this time.

Standing on the hill, Edward was talking into a megaphone. To his left were Garrett Forrest and Emmett McCarty. Bella hung around the back, not wanting to look too conspicuous. It wasn't that easy, since she was the only female, and the only person wearing a suit, instead of jeans or work wear.

She was too far away for Edward to catch a glimpse of her, however. She must have looked like a black speck of dust to his eyes. His voice sounded strange as it amplified through the orange plastic megaphone.

"…we have no choice. We have to take a stand now, or find ourselves and our families suffering the consequences. Garrett Forrest and I will be asking the Union to set up a secret ballot for strike action. I urge every one of you to vote, and make sure it is the right vote. Efficiencies are only the thin end of the wedge."

Two thousand people murmuring in agreement sounded more of a cacophony to Bella's ears. She felt totally isolated, standing here. She hoped that she wasn't putting herself in danger.

One of the workers climbed up and grabbed the megaphone.

"I say we all walk now. We don't need a secret ballot to tell us what we already know. Let's strike."

Some people started to clap. Emmett McCarty took the megaphone.

"I agree. If we go back to work now, we'll just be stockpiling so that the strike has no effect. Even a week will be enough to make sure we lose." The clapping continued. A few more people joined in. Towards the back of the crowd, a chant of 'Strike! Strike! Strike!' began.

Snatching the megaphone back out of Emmett's hands, Edward put it up to his mouth. "If we do that, then we'll all be out of the job. It's illegal, Detroit Motors will have every reason to sack you, and the Union will get sued."

Bella saw Garrett Forrest lean forward to talk to Edward. Edward slowly passed the megaphone to him.

"Listen boys," Garrett's New York accent suddenly sounded more pronounced. "I don't blame you if you want to walk. If I were you I'd do the same. And I support you in your efforts to make Detroit take notice. But officially, the General Union can't voice its support. We'd be sued for all that we had, and shut down."

"You fucking weasel!" Edward ranted, grabbing the megaphone off Garrett. "Either you support us, or you don't. You can't tell us to walk out and then say the Union won't support us." Edward took a breath of the wet air, then continued. "Look at you in your smart suit and flash tie. You look like one of the pigs in animal farm."

Bella gasped at the jibe. In front of her a couple of blokes started laughing. 'Good old Edward.'

"I don't think that was called for." Garrett Forrest talked into the megaphone, but Edward refused to let him hold it. "I am just saying that as a man, I support you, but as a Union official, I cannot sanction any action that is illegal."

"Then fuck off!" Someone shouted out in the crowd.

"Yeah, piss off you fucking turncoat!"

Bella remembered Tanya talking about Union in-fighting. It was much more interesting to witness this than any fights between Union and management. These people seemed more willing to call a spade a spade.

In the confusion on the hill, Emmett McCarty grabbed the megaphone again. "Let's see your hands for action boys. If you want to walk out now, show us your support."

About two thirds of the crowd put their arms up. The action reminded Bella of a Mexican wave in a football stadium.

"Then let's do it. Fuck Detroit Motors, and fuck the Union. If we don't fight for our livelihoods, nobody will." People began to cheer Emmett McCarty. Bella wished that Edward had won this fight, she couldn't help but think that Emmett was going to be the next Leader.

A few people began to leave the crowd and walk to their cars. There was clearly going to be no more production today, and Bella didn't want to be the one to tell Tyler Crowley that, as he watched his production scores fly right out of the window.

"Okay." Edward spoke at last. "If we are all agreed, then we are taking industrial action as of now. But you all need to be clear on the consequences. We are risking our jobs and the support of the Union by striking. If you are willing to do that, then so am I."

Edward got more cheers than Emmett did this time. Bella half expected to see a scoreboard on the hill. Emmett fifteen, Edward thirty.

The crowd began to disperse. Bella felt that she should be recording this for posterity. The first strike that she had witnessed first-hand. It was like being in the nineteen seventies, when more days were spent striking that working, by all accounts. At least, that was the Detroit Motors folklore.

She stood to one side as people began getting into their cars and driving away. She wondered what they would do, go home and watch As the World Turns, or go to their local bars and spend money that they soon wouldn't have? Maybe Edward would go home and pine for her, spending his afternoon writing love sonnets dedicated to her.

Bella looked over at the factory gates, and saw all the television cameras filming the mass exodus of workers. She should really go and tell Aro what had occurred, but her feet were rooted to the ground by the hope that Edward would walk past her as he left. She seriously needed to grab a hold of herself. The minutiae of her personal relationships were really chicken feed compared to the future of the factory.

Unfortunately Emmett McCarty saw her first. "What the fuck do you want?" He grunted as he walked towards her. "Haven't you done enough already?"

Bella shrugged. "It's a Company Car Park."

"Stop spying on us you bitch." Emmett leaned towards her. Bella guessed that she was supposed to feel menaced.

"Leave it out you fuckwad." Edward pulled Emmett away by his collar. "Go and do something useful – make us all a cup of coffee will you?"

He caught Bella's eye. She willed him to smile at her, as he did earlier. But his face remained resolutely grim. "You'd better go back to your friends. This is no place for a management groupie." He suggested as he walked past her. He dismissed her with a wave of his hand, and her heart fell. It would appear that Friday night really was just a meaningless fuck to him.

Turning around, all she could see was his broad back as he strolled alongside Emmett McCarty. Resisting the temptation to run up and jump on his back, screaming 'Fuck me again you bastard', Bella turned around and walked back towards the factory. As she looked up to the window she saw Aro motioning at her out of his window. A soft sigh emerged from her down-turned mouth. In the midst of all this fuckwittery, she was completely aware that her biggest worry seemed to be that there was no way that Edward was ever going to talk to her again. She hoped that she would be able to find her professionalism somewhere back on the factory floor, and concentrate on the bigger matter of making Fairhaven profitable again.


	12. Chapter 12

**A/N Thank you SO MUCH for all the lovely reviews, PMs, adds and follows. I am so very appreciative of all the feedback, a you make me want to write faster and better chapters, so THANK YOU! And a special thanks to The Fictionators for posting a teaser, their blog is excellent, with lots of story recs. Check it out if you haven't already at www dot fictionators dot com. **

**CHAPTER 12 -In Memoriam  
**

The cold wooden bench was making Bella uncomfortable. She remembered her Grandmother's warnings that sitting on something too hot or too cold was bound to give you piles. In fact, her Grandmother's funeral must have been the last one she went to. That was over five years ago.

Funerals weren't much fun at the best of times, she reflected, even when you knew the person well and were mourning their passing legally. But Bella felt her presence was illicit. Not only was her acquaintance with Carlisle Masen passing, but she had sat firmly on the enemy's side when it came to their negotiations. She felt that she wouldn't be any more visible if somebody wrote 'scab' with a thick red felt tip right across her forehead.

The church was filled with hushed murmurs. This was always the worst bit whether it was weddings or funerals. Waiting for the star attraction to turn up, before you could turn your emotions on. She hoped she wasn't going to cry.

"Do you think we smell?" Jasper Hale muttered. He pulled a handkerchief out of his breast pocket and proceeded to clean his glasses.

"What?" Aro Volturi looked around him, then noticed the six feet exclusion zone that had been invisibly painted around the 'management' bench. "Oh, right. If we do, we're not the only things that stink around here."

Bella tried to ignore them. She wondered again what the hell she was doing here. Even if the factory was like a ghost town, at the very least she could be working through her in tray. Or watching daytime tv. Her hands were shaking from a lack of cigarettes.

The door of the church opened, letting in a huge gust of wind, laden with old confetti and dry brown leaves. In concert, the whole of the congregation turned around to look. The similarities between marriage and death struck Bella again. The only ceremony that didn't involve a hushed entrance was christenings, and let's face it, not many people seemed to be doing that anymore.

The coffin entered, carried by six hulking men all dressed in black. Edward was at the front, with the coffin balanced on his left shoulder. Bella looked down at his polished black shoes. As he walked past their pew, she could see her face reflecting back at her. She couldn't bring herself to look at _his_ face, the emotion of the ceremony and the uncertainty of their relationship or lack thereof was already making her feel sick.

The church was silent, save for the tapping sounds made by twelve large shoes on the parquet wooden floor. Bella was surprised that no music accompanied the coffin's journey up the aisle. Or was that only in weddings? She couldn't remember.

The cortege reached the front of the church, and all six men bent their knees to place the coffin on its stand. The wreath of white flowers balanced on top of the coffin slid almost to the edge as they made frantic efforts to even the coffin up.

Father Jamieson walked up beside the coffin, and opened his prayer book. The silence of the room was pricked by two hundred people shuffling forward to kneel as they prayed. Bella wasn't looking at the yellow faced young pastor, her gaze was firmly fixed on Edward, as he walked to take a pew beside the person that she presumed to be Carlisle's widow, and a blonde woman with two small children sitting next to her.

"That Cullen's' ex wife?" She heard Aro bark out to Jasper. Subtlety was never Aro's strong point, but it didn't stop Bella leaning to her left to hear Jasper's reply.

"I think her name's Kate. She's Garrett Forrest's daughter."

"That fucking scumbag." Aro spat. Bella tried not to laugh. Filthy oaths emerging from the mouths of managers always sounded amusing to her.

"You noticed there was no love lost between him and Edward then?"

The pastor finished his prayers, and the congregation stood to sing. Bella mimed the words, not wanting to inflict her atonal voice on the rest of the management team. Aro wasn't so shy, lending the sweet naïve words of 'The lord is my shepherd' his own, distinct, nasal twang. He sounded like a cross between Clint Eastwood and John Wayne trying to sing a hymn.

"Edward Cullen will now perform the first reading."

Edward walked up. Bella looked at him fully for the first time that day. His dark suit seemed to fit him perfectly, the cut looked expensive. As he stood in front of the podium and pulled out a crumpled piece of paper, Bella could see his right hand pulling at his collar, trying to provide himself with a bit more space around his neck.

She wondered exactly how she felt about the whole clusterfuck of a relationship she was having. She was shitting on her own doorstep in a most idiotic manner, endangering her task here at Fairhaven and probably her own career. Even her relationship with James was less fucked up than this.

Her eyes wandered over to look at the back of his ex-wife's head. The blonde hair was expensively colored, beautifully straightened so that it hung straight down her back. Bella couldn't tell the ages of the two children sitting next to her, although she assumed they were under ten. Either way, she was finding it hard to subdue the feeling of jealousy that seeing Edward's family was causing her to feel.

Edward's voice brought her sharply out of her reverie. "Carlisle Masen was a lot of things to a lot of people." His voice rang out clear and true; the nervousness of a few moments ago had dissipated.

"He was a husband, a father, a friend and a leader. To some, he was even a foe. But he was never anybody's enemy, not when he was fighting for social justice or the family he loved. Carlisle only acted from the purest of motives, the belief that mankind was inherently good."

There were sounds of approval from the family at the front of the church

"I have seen Carlisle moved to tears by the way that his workers were treated. I have also seen him unspeakably angry when one of them did something wrong. But the next day, he would sit and support the same man that he held by the collar against the wall the day before. Carlisle was that kind of man. He saw his workers as a shepherd sees his sheep; he loved them and protected them, even when he had to be cruel to provide the ultimate kindness."

Edward's voice began to crack. Bella restrained herself from going to comfort him. She was certain that it wouldn't go down well with his ex-wife.

"Carlisle was more than a friend to me. He was my mentor. I loved him dearly, and that is why I vow to carry on his fight. There are people in this room who see Carlisle's death as an opportunity to divide the union and exploit us workers. We will not let this happen."

Bella didn't dare to look up, she was so afraid that his accusing gaze would rest on her. Aro squirmed slightly in his seat beside her, his leg accidentally clipping hers as he did so.

"Sorry." He attempted a whisper. With a voice like his, he was never going to succeed.

Edward's speech concluded. As he walked back to his seat, he wiped away a tear with the left sleeve of jacket. Bella wondered if the material was at all absorbent. As he sat down, Kate's hand went up around his shoulder, pulling him towards her comfortingly. Bella could feel the hair on her arms bristling at the gesture. She shifted in her seat, willing the hands on her watch to move a little faster. It was only half past one.

"We've got to go to a meeting at the Head Office in Ann Arbor on Thursday." Aro whispered in her ear as the next set of prayers began. "The Chief Negotiator has decided to get in on the act and has requested that we meet away from the factory. Something about getting out of the boiler room so that decent negotiations can be held. I swear the bloody Union spend more time talking than actually making anything." Bella smiled gently at his anger. "I've booked us all into the Westin there, so that we can all get together and strategize in the evening." He paused for breath momentarily, then added, "Oh, and James Hunter is going to come along to see how things are going."

Bella stopped moving. The thought of seeing James hit her in the stomach like a wrecking ball. The congregation started to recite the Lord's Prayer. She didn't join in, thinking that it was too late to appeal to the higher laws.

"Do you need me there?" She meant it to sound like a question rather than the petulant cry of a five year old child.

"Yes." By now even Aro was feeling uncomfortable at the irritated stares from the mourners, and whispered out of the side of his mouth, "We'll discuss it later."

The service over, people were beginning to stand up, put their coats on and get ready to walk to the graveyard. Bella decided that she would rather walk from coast to coast than take the hundred yard trip to Carlisle's final resting place. Like any woman in a fix, she turned to Aro.

"I've got cramps." She stated. "I'll have to go to the shops."

Simple. Cramps could mean anything, not just periods.

"Okaaayyyy." Aro said it in a long drawn out way, not his usual brusque manner.

As people walked out of the church, the chief mourners were shaking their hands, thanking them for coming. Bella could feel her legs wobble slightly as she reached the reception committee.

"Thank you." Was the quiet whisper that emerged from the mouth of Carlisle's widow. Bella was shocked at how limp her handshake was.

After shaking the hands of Carlisle's two daughters, she finally reached Edward. Setting aside her normal derision, she prayed that her hands wouldn't shake.

"Thanks for coming." Edward said. Was it her imagination, or did he hold her hand for a second longer than everyone else?

"I'm sorry about Carlisle." She managed to say. Her stomach really did feel crampy now.

"Me too." His green eyes stared back at her. It really wasn't appropriate to feel sexually turned on at a funeral, but she was aware that very few of her actions were ever really appropriate.

She wanted to take him aside and psychoanalyse him. He would lie back on the church pew, whilst she crossed her legs and wrote on a legal pad.

_"So tell me, Mr Cullen, when you said, 'me too' did you mean you were sorry about the death of your friend, or did you mean that you were sorry it resulted in coitus interruptus?" Not that there was any interrupting going on, but still, this was her fantasy, and she'd make it up exactly to her own tastes._

"So you're not going to shake my hand." Aro drawled beside her. Bella looked up to see Edward pulling his arms tightly across his chest.

The rest of the line stood silently watching them, waiting to see who would move first.

Aro was standing so close to Bella that she thought she could hear his heart beating. Then she realised it was her own.

"I don't think Carlisle would want me to shake your hand." Edward's voice was harsh.

Aro took a step backwards. He put his left arm around Bella's shoulder and started to steer her out of the room. Taking one last look at Edward's narrowing eyes, she walked with her boss to the Church door.

"What chance does Fairhaven have with numbskulls like that for workers." Aro muttered rhetorically as they walked towards the car park.

Bella jangled her keys in her jacket pocket. The rain was lighter now, but she could still feel her hair frizzing up from the misty droplets.

"I suppose this is where we say goodbye." Jasper Hale was right behind them. Bella had been so caught up in her own thoughts, she hadn't even noticed him.

"I'll be going straight to the Hotel in Ann Arbor for pre-meetings with the board." Aro told them both. "I'll see you both on Monday. Don't forget to hold the fort."

Bella smiled. "Do you mean keep the portcullis firmly down?"

"Just don't let them do anything really stupid in my absence." Aro put the key in the door of his green Jag.

"Jesus!" Jasper's voice seemed five octaves higher than normal. "Look what they've done to your car."

Bella's gaze dropped to the lower part of the car, where Jasper was gesticulating madly. Someone had scored ten deep key marks right across the wing of the car. They had also seen fit to stab huge holes in his tyres. Bella's mind wandered back to the night her engine was stolen. At least Aro didn't have to worry about being stranded all alone in the factory. Some people had all the luck.

"Fucking bastards." Aro growled, gently touching the scratches on the wing. "I can't believe they'd do this to my car."

Bella exchanged glances with Jasper. He had told her a story about when Aro ran a Factory in South America, and was taken hostage by local workers because he was threatening to shut down the place. Apparently having yourself and your family held with a kalashnikov to your head for fifty two hours was more credible than having someone run a key down the side of your car.

The funeral party was bearing down on them. The cemetery was on the other side of the road, and they were all walking through the car park to get there. Edward was first, and hanging from each of his arms were his children, a blonde haired little girl, and a mini-me of a boy. His ex wife was slighly behind him. Bella finally got to see her in close up. She was as beautiful as Bella had feared she would be, flawless skin, a perfectly straight nose, bright blue eyes and bow-shaped lips enhanced by a small covering of nude lip-gloss. How the fuck did he go from sleeping with perfection to finding Bella a suitable bedmate?

"Problem with the car?" Edward called out at them as he walked past. His face was illuminated by an innocent smile. His children looked happy as they swung from his arms. Obviously they didn't see their Daddy as much as they wanted to.

"Nothing for you to worry about!" Jasper shouted at his back, as Edward reached the edge of the car park, and started to cross the road. More mourners followed, however, and none of them could resist the opportunity to jibe Aro as they passed his desecrated car. Aro seemed too shocked to speak.

Bella had never been good with blubbing men. Maybe that's why she preferred to go out with the stronger type, men like James and Edward who knew what they want, even if they weren't supposed to take it. Or maybe she chose the type that couldn't be her soulmate for exactly that reason, she liked the ups, but couldn't stand the downs.

"I'll see you in Ann Arbor." She had already started to walk away. She didn't care if her car had been put up on bricks and scratched to high heaven, it would still be preferable to seeing Aro Volturi shaken up by a few small scratches.

"Yes, bye Bella." Jasper was doing all the talking for Aro now. Perhaps he would even give him a big maternal hug if that were what Aro needed. Bella would never have thought of Jasper as the nurturing type.

Seeing Aro get all emotional had made Bella think about her stepfather. She had only met Phil Dwyer twice, but both times he made her think of 'Big Daddy' in Cat on a Hot Tin Roof. All man, with a dominating nature until challenged. Her mother was probably lucky that Bella was away at school by the time she met Phil, and they never had to live for any extended period of time as a family. Otherwise, he would probably have gone the way of all her husbands and boyfriends. Able to cope with one highly strung woman, but certainly not able to put up with her smart – mouth daughter.

Still, when she first saw Phil, he was standing in his back garden, in front of a huge white makeshift altar, looking back at her mother as she walked down the aisle. Renee had been wearing a white balenciaga dress, and Bella had wondered whether it was the thought of the cost, or true love that made Phil start to cry as he saw her up close. Or maybe it was just the thought of being stuck with this woman for the rest of his life. At least he had had the sense to get her to sign a pre-nuptial agreement. As they had sat in her Mother's apartment, she had confided to Bella that he had wanted her to have an HIV test as well. Apparently this little suggestion was swallowed right back with just one stern glance from her mother's eye.

Perhaps that was what Bella needed, a sugar Daddy who bent to her will when she demanded that he do so. In many ways it would be so much more preferable than a hazy relationship with her married boss, and an even more tenuous one with the leader of her enemies.


	13. Chapter 13

**A/N Thanks for the recs, follows are views and pms, it is great to hear what you think of the story! **

**CHAPTER 13 - Hotel for Lovers  
**

As she pulled up to the main gate of the factory, one of the female HR Advisors greeted her.

"You can go straight in." None of the advisors were that much younger than Bella, and she knew from Tanya that they were all business school graduates. Bella had never really spoken to any of them for more than a minute, though. It was like they were afraid of her.

"What are you doing in the gate?" Bella asked her.

"Even the security guards are on strike. I'm one of the lucky ones, I don't have to work night shift…" suddenly a look of alarm came over her face. "You'd better drive in, there's a mob coming up."

Bella looked to her right and saw about twenty workers approaching the car.

"Hey! Scab." The one leading them was shouting at her. He looked about the same age as Bella, but his face was much, much redder.

Bella put her foot firmly down on the accelerator, as the gate swung back to let her in. She hoped that the gate house was secure enough to protect the poor girl she had left behind her. But then, glancing in her rear view mirror, she saw the crowd dispersing again. Clearly they had an amnesty with the people in the gatehouse, the cars entering the factory were their real game.

Up in the office, her desk was piled with the papers that she had left strewn about before the excitements of the past few days. Just as she started to tidy them up, Aro's secretary walked into her office.

"You've had a few phone calls." She handed a piece of notepaper with messages written on them to Bella. "But one of them was insistent that you called back straight away. It was Mr Hunter."

Bella's throat went dry. She dropped the papers that she was clutching straight on to her desk. A few fell over the side, onto the floor. It took her a couple of seconds for her to realize that the secretary was still in the room, staring at her.

"Funerals." Bella attempted to smile, read her messages and pick up the papers at the same time, but only succeeded in dropping everything.

"I know." The secretary said consolingly, then turned and scampered out of the room. She must have thought Bella was an imbecile.

All alone, Bella collapsed into her black leather chair. Having admired Aro's chair so much from the first day that she arrived, he had ordered her one from the Company furniture warehouse. She was glad that none of the workers knew he was spending money on her comfort, whilst threatening to shut down the factory, but even if they were, there was no way she was giving back this little bit of luxury.

She reached her shaking hand out to pick up her mobile. Then, slowly punching in James's number, she took three deep breaths, so that she didn't sound too excited when she spoke to him. Unfortunately, her deep inhalations only made her feel even more breathless.

"James Hunter, Grayson Brown." The smooth familiar voice coming through the earpiece made Bella feel suddenly homesick. James reminded her of Seattle in the way that oven cooked pizzas and beer reminded her of being a student.

"It's Bella." She certainly wasn't about to go on last name terms with James, but for a horrible moment she thought he was about to say 'Bella who?' Had she really been away for that long?

"Bella." His voice sounded warmer than she last remembered. Feeling her thighs start to go clammy, Bella forced herself to remember their last encounter. The cold hard pokes that James pretended were making love, in the Hotel storeroom. It was like thinking about your teachers at school being naked, it makes them feel more human.

"I'm glad you called." James cleared his throat. Bella could just see him in her mind's eye, dressed in his blue Brooks Brothers suit, Italian leather shoes on his desk, leaning back in his chair and feeling smug that he could have an adult conversation with another of his conquests.

"Are you?" Bella asked, not sure herself whether it was rhetorical or not. She wished that he could see her too, in her posh new leather chair, her legs thinner than ever, and freshly fucked at the weekend. It was a game between them of one upmanship - you may be married, but I am still attracting members of the opposite sex.

"There's a few things I've got to go through with you. We also need to start thinking about your next assignment. I'm sure that you'll have this one closed off soon."

"I wouldn't be so sure." She muttered, then remembered whom she was talking to. "I mean, of course. Aro told me you are coming to the hotel in Ann Arbor, shall we discuss it then?"

There was a long silence. Bella was determined not to break it, convention ruled that when she finished talking, he was supposed to start. The first rule of conversation. Only James could flout this quite so flamboyantly.

"I suppose we could do that." James finally said after a minute's pause. "Perhaps we can go out for lunch. Or dinner."

She felt like she was frozen in her seat. The leather felt harder than before, as if it was pushing out at her, rather than giving as she leaned back on the seat.

"Whatever." Nonchalance didn't cut it. She knew she sounded like a teenage kid.

"I'll book us a table for the first night. Give me a call on the mobile once you get there. It will be good to see you"

"Whatever." Her brain possessed a single word lexicon. She must try and expand her horizons.

"There is one other thing." She could hear him tapping his fountain pen on his desk, something he always did when he was nervous. Tap, tap, tap, when he was on the telephone to his wife whilst discussing an intimate liaison with Bella in his office. Tap tap tap when the Managing director barged into his office just as he was about to pull Bella into his arms. Maybe she did know him too well.

"What?" Surely that counted as a different word, even though it was the root of 'whatever'? Perhaps she should refer it to dictionary corner?

"Detroit Motors have asked us if you can be their stand in HR Director in Fairhaven. Just for a few weeks before they appoint a permanent director."

"Oh!" Bella sat straight up in her chair. "What did you say?"

"I told them we were consultants, not a recruitment agency,"

"Good." Bella interrupted.

"But if this was something they really needed to do, they had my support." He continued, ignoring her comment. "So I agreed to it for a six week period. After that, they're on their own."

She felt the sudden need to be violent to the mobile, as a proxy for James himself. He should count himself lucky he's not in the room, she thought as she bit her lip hard, restraining herself from hitting her phone on the table several times.

"Are you sure?" Using Edward's analogy, Bella felt like one of the Pigs in Animal Farm, slowly turning into humans. Except that she was becoming more like that bitch, Tanya Denali.

"They're our customer." James said slowly. "Now, just see what you can do. It will be good experience for you."

"So would a multiple orgasm." Bella muttered. "But you were never able to provide me with that."

The line was crackling. For an insane moment, she thought it might be James, imitating a line fault so that he could end the conversation early.

"I'll see you in Ann Arbor." James shouted over the noise. "We can discuss it then."

Without saying goodbye, she pushed the end button on her mobile with an angry finger. She would have preferred to slam her phone back in its cradle. Somehow that felt so much more satisfying than a quick punch of the end button.

She felt totally uncomfortable about taking HR responsibility for a Company that technically she didn't work for. Surely it was just another nail in Fairhaven's coffin? If Detroit Motors were really determined to keep it open, they would invest their best people in running Fairhaven's HR department, not just some consultant who had only started working with them a short while ago.

Grabbing her first piece of mail, she tore the envelope open savagely. Seeing that it was just an internal memo, she threw it in the bin. Then she angrily shoved the remaining papers on her desk in the same bin, feeling like a child who hadn't got her own way.

"Stop it." She said to herself out loud. She hoped they didn't have any bugs placed in her room, or the men in white coats would be running through her door quicker than you can say 'schizophrenic'.

Swallowing her last piece of anger, she told herself to calm down. Surprisingly, she could feel her heart rate start to slow down a little. Still, she couldn't help thinking that James had only agreed to Aro's proposal just to keep her out of Seattle for a little while longer.

She picked all the bits of paper back out of the bin, feeling slightly stupid at herself. If only Detroit Motors didn't have a policy of non smoking in the office, she'd be lighting up a cigarette right now. Obviously, she was going to give up giving up for another week. She needed nicotine too much right now.

The internal memo that she first threw into the bin was a photocopy, and was dated 28th August. The piece of paper was over two weeks old.

Scanning it disinterestedly, she began thinking that her first job as HR Director would be to make sure that communication was timely. What was the point of sending people information, when it was probably already yesterday's news.

She didn't really take any of the information in, until she saw the name 'Tanya Denali. That made her more interested. Similar to the way that Sherlock Holmes got excited by crimes committed by Moriaty. Something to do with Bete Noires.

Looking back up the piece of paper again, she saw that Mr Robert Beck, Director of HR for Detroit Motors, Europe, had sent it to Aro Volturi. It was labelled Confidential.

_As discussed on the telephone, we have reassigned Ms Tanya Denali to our Head Office, effective 14__th__ September 2012. In her absence, you have our consent to the interim measure of a consultant carrying out the role of HR Director for Detroit Fairhaven. We agreed to this as a short-term measure, lasting only 6 weeks. Any change to this agreement will be notified to you in writing by myself._

_Bob Beck._

Bella scowled as she re-read the memo. Why would James tell her that she was reassigned today, when it had been agreed two weeks ago? She couldn't understand why everyone was being so secretive about this. Surely most people who move locations at least have leaving drinks before they go? Tanya must have known for two weeks that she was going, without telling anybody at all. Bella thought she must have been a tightwad bitch at least not to buy the management team a drink before they left.

She put the memo into her briefcase for safe keeping, then grabbed the envelope that it came in. Looking at it, she saw that it was an internal envelope – but there was no sign of the person who had sent it to her. Whoever they were, they were sensible enough to use an envelope that hadn't been used before.

Grabbing her briefcase, she decided it was time to organize her travel to the Ann Arbor Westin hotel. The complexity of the situation that awaited her was mind boggling; a Company and Union at loggerheads with each other, having to perform a stand in role that she was in no way qualified to do, and the presence of her two semi, kind of, not really boyfriends. No wonder she felt sick to her stomach.

* * *

She arrived at the hotel in the early evening, parking her car in the corner of the car park nearest reception. She had only packed a small bag, hoping that she wouldn't have to be here any longer than a couple of days. After that, she'd have the excuse to leave – surely even Aro would accept that a lack of panties and clean shirts was a good enough reason to run. Assuming that he forgot that the hotel had a laundry service, that was.

The hotel was busy. For some strange reason both the Company and the Union had decided to stay there, although the hotel had seen fit to assign them to separate floors. The directors were on the top floor, with access to the best suites and the club lounge. Aro had joined them up there, so that they could talk strategy at any time of the day or night. Bella had been assigned a room on the floor below, but was given a key card which allowed her access to the club room at any time, should she need it.

As soon as she was in her room, she unpacked her sparse belongings and set the coffee machine on to brew. She wasn't going to telephone anybody to let them know she was there until she had drunk at least two cups of coffee and had a long hot shower.

Her phone had other ideas, however, and as soon as she had taken her clothes off and wrapped herself in a white fluffy towel, it began to ring. Looking at the caller display, she could see it was Aro. She was tempted to send it to voicemail and pretend that she was still driving and unable to get her Bluetooth working. However, her conscience got the better of her, and she snatched it up and pressed the green button.

"Hi Aro."

"Bella, reception tell me you've just checked in." Good job she didn't pretend she was driving to the creepy old stalker. "Are you free to come up to a pre-meet?"

"I'm just jumping in the shower." Bella replied. "I can be there in about twenty minutes." So much for a long hot shower. This was going to be fast and particularly unfulfilling. It seemed like the story of her life.

"Good. We've ordered food to be brought up, so we can settle in for the evening." Aro barked, before disconnecting. Oh Joy, not only was she having her shower enjoyment curtailed, she now had an evening of strategizing with the Greys to look forward to.

After hurrying through her shower, and gulping down only one of her two promised coffees, she quickly dressed and made her way up to the Club Lounge. As promised, it had been taken over by Detroit Motors; full of men in grey suits, laptops, flip charts and coffee cups everywhere. She restrained herself from going around and picking up the empty cups – why were men so disgustingly untidy?

"Bella!" Aro shouted out from the corner of the room, where he was ensconced with the 2 Men in Grey she had previously met at Fairhaven. "You remember Alec and Marcus?"

"Hello again." She chose not to answer his question, as clearly she had forgotten their names, preferring to give them the group name of MIG (men in grey). She shook both their proffered hands in turn.

"Bella." A smooth voice came from behind her. James. She whipped her head round to see him standing slightly closer to her than was comfortable for a co-worker. He was smiling softly at her, his blue eyes burning into hers.

"James. Hello." She took a slight step backwards, but found herself nearly treading on the toes of one of the MIGs. "Sorry!" She turned to Alec. Or was it Marcus?

"No worries." He smiled tightly before retreating back to the safety of his seat, where all threats of flattened toes would be eliminated.

James took Bella's arm. "Let's have a quick chat." He pulled her towards the opposite side of the room, which was free of people and curious ears.

She let herself be dragged by her erstwhile lover, feeling the inevitability of this discussion. She hated that she still felt a frisson of excitement at the feeling of his hands touching her skin. It was nothing compared to the feeling of Edward's, but it was still there, like a memory of romance past.

"You look wonderful." His voice gushed. She wondered why she hadn't noticed the insincerity in it before.

"I take it that by wonderful, you mean thin." She said drily.

"You know what I mean." He was invading her personal space again. There was only a couple of feet between them now. "I must have been mad to send you away."

For a moment Bella thought she was trapped in a Mills and Boon romance. She wasn't sure how good James would look with long blonde hair and a bare chest, but she knew that she would look great in a crinoline.

"You didn't send me away." Bella pointed out. "I went of my own accord."

James blanched as if she had touched a raw piece of flesh on his arm. "Now that's not strictly true."

Bella glared at him, trying not to laugh. They had started an argument about semantics in record time.

"I did it for both of our goods." James pointed out. "But I don't think I can let you go back again."

"Okay then Dad." Bella said sarcastically. "Just tell me what to do, and I'll follow your advice."

His mobile rang, interrupting the repartee. James looked startled, then raised his right hand and put up his index finger, as if to say, 'I'll be one minute'.

Pulling his mobile from his suit pocket, he answered it with a swipe of his finger. "Hello darling." He wheedled, glancing up at Bella to see how she would take the endearment. "How are you?"

There was silence as the person on the other end talked. Bella glanced through the hotel window. She was too far away to be able to see the traffic in the streets below, but in a building across the way, she could clearly see a dark haired man sitting at his desk.

"I should only be away for a couple of days." James was saying. "I have to debrief one of my consultants."

Bella burst out laughing at this obvious innuendo. James caught her eye and smiled back at her. "To be honest, I think I'm going to have to take her in hand."

Bella felt her body shaking with amusement. She was beginning to remember why she liked him so much.

"Bye then darling." James ended the call and put his mobile back in his pocket. "I'm looking forward to dinner." He murmured as he approached Bella again.

"We have a lot of business to discuss." Bella agreed, moving away slightly as he reached out to touch her arm. "Like why you agreed to me being stand in HR director at Fairhaven."

James immediately drew away. "Can't this wait?" He sighed, trying to appear as if he had much more pressing issues to attend to.

"I'll wait as long as you want me to." Bella said, sitting down on one of the chairs around a small conference table. "I've got all night."

James moved towards the table like a gazelle knowing it was about to be pounced upon. "Well I haven't." He said testily, looking at Bella like she was an extremely nasty plate of spaghetti carbonara he was being forced to eat.

"I just want you to explain to me why I shouldn't tell you to shove this job." Bella felt her lips pursing together as she finished the sentence. She had seen that mannerism before – in her mother's face, whenever Bella would come out of her room dressed in the latest fashion. 'Fashion is transient.' Her mother would lecture her. 'Class is timeless.'

"Because you can't afford to." James said flippantly, running his fingers through his dirty blond hair. Bella was slightly amused to see that he got stuck halfway through – he was obviously being over generous with his hair products.

"I didn't join Grayson-Brown to become an HR director. I am a consultant, I don't expect to be put in this sort of situation." Concentrating on her skirt, Bella began to pick imaginary pieces of lint from the black material. She didn't intend to let James smarm his way out of this, and one look in his eyes and she may be hooked again.

"Look at me, Bella." James was unexpectedly gentle. "Look at me." He said again, reaching out and using his right hand to lift Bella's chin up so that they made eye contact. "It isn't ideal. I never pretended it was. But we rely on Detroit Motors for a lot of work. I can't afford to piss them off."

"But why me?" Bella whined. "I don't even have that much experience of HR." Little white lies. She had a degree in Business, for gods' sake.

"Think of it as a test." James advised her. "You'll come out of this a better consultant. You'll see the other side of the divide."

Bella wished she were back in the Twilight bar, nursing a bottle of Becks and bantering with Edward bloody Cullen. At least he never asked anything of her, or expected her to do what she was told without a fuss. He had just stared at her with lust in his eyes, and she'd melted into his arms. At least, that's how her rose tinted memory went.

"What if I refuse?" Bella persisted. She couldn't stand the thought of stepping into Tanya Denali's black patent shoes. From what she could tell, Tanya spent most of her time trying to get sick people back to work, and sorting out payroll queries. It wasn't the sort of glamorous job Bella had envisaged when she graduated.

James stood and walked back to the table, sitting down on an expensive leather chair. Bella wanted to tell him that she had one just like that in Fairhaven, but managed for once to suppress the desire to annoy him.

"Has this conversation finished?" Looking up, she saw that James had started to log on to his mobile to retrieve his email.

"My part of it has." James told her. "Now, why don't you go and work your butt off on resolving the Fairhaven situation. Before you know it, you'll be back in the office working on a new project."

"How much do you know about Fairhaven?"

James looked confused. "I know that the workers are on strike, and probably will be sacked for not fulfilling their contract."

"How much did you know before I went up there?" Bella dug further.

I'm not sure what you mean." James glanced at his watch. "I've got to dial in for a conference call." He grabbed his jacket from the back of a chair. "I'll see you on tonight at eight. I've booked at table at Mamma Amalfi's just down the road." Without a backward glance, he left the Club Room.

Sitting there alone, Bella fought the urge to scream. As much as she wanted to let out some tension, she felt that now wasn't really the most appropriate time. And whe wasn't too certain what good it would do for her career.

A secretary walked over to the table where she was sitting.

"A fax has just come through for you." She handed her two sheets of letter paper. The first was just a header – addressed to Bella, but with no sender identified. The second was a printed out e-mail, from Jack Shaw's account.

To: **AroVolturi ** From: **HunterJR **

Date: **August 10****th****, 2012**

Subject: **Confidential**

**Aro,**

**Thanks for your e-mail, it's good to hear from you again. We must try and arrange that game of golf some time.**

**I have the perfect Consultant for your assignment. Her name is Bella Swan, and she has had extensive experience in the Manufacturing industry, including FMCG and other areas. Her great knowledge of employment law will come in useful in the assignment. She also has the background in Human Resources that you stipulated.**

**As requested, the information I will give her will be brief. I agree, to let her know in advance about the closure will cause more problems that it is worth. I am sure we can come to an agreement about how we approach this issue. I will erase this e-mail from my account, and anticipate that you will do the same.**

**Thanks again, and please let me know if there is anything else I can do.**

**Regards,**

**James Hunter**

As she read the e-mail, Bella felt her legs wobbling under her. She reached out and steadied herself on the side table next to her.

"What's that?" Aro called over to her from the other side of the room.

"Nothing, its fine." Bella made a grotesque attempt at a smile. "Just a message from my Mother." She hastily stuffed the paper into her laptop bag, not wanting anybody else to read the information she had just been given.

Who the hell was sending her this stuff? And what was their agenda? She felt like a pawn on a chess board, being moved forwards towards a goal that wasn't necessarily her own, ready to be sacrificed in the name of the greater good. But she sure as hell didn't want to be sacrificed, and had no idea who it was who was doing the moving.

She realized that she had absolutely nobody that she could trust. James and Aro had obviously agreed a strategy in advance which they had failed to divulge to her, and Edward was openly working for the enemy. She was on her own, without any support or confidantes. She had no plan as to what her next move should be, whether she should be confrontational, or whether she should bide her time and wait until more information came to light. She still didn't understand where she fit in to all these plans, or why they had chosen her in particular to play this little role. One thing she did know was that she wasn't planning on going down without a fight.


	14. Chapter 14

**A/N Thank you all for your messages, reviews, follows & recommendations - I really appreciate them all - you make me want to be a better writer. I've had a couple of questions about the length of the story - I've scoped the whole story out and it looks like being around 30 chapters long.**

**I try to post a teaser each Monday on The Fictionators Teaser Mondays - take a look on www . fictionators . com.  
**

**CHAPTER 14 - Threats and Promises  
**

Bella spent a fair part of the next few hours scrutinising her diary, and the two leaked documents, trying to figure out what the hell was going on. She sat on the plump cream sofa, in her Hotel room. She had decided that she was definitely going to charge this bit of luxury to the Company, and since she wasn't paying for it, she was determined to get her money's worth.

So she sat, sipping free coffee, laced with the contents of a mini bottle of whisky (costing $10, another thing to charge to expenses), and tried to work out what the hell she was getting herself mixed up in.

From her diary, she knew that James had first told her about her new assignment on the 14th August. That was four days AFTER he had sent the email. For some reason, and she didn't know what this was, Aro Volturi and James had conspired to set her up in Fairhaven. Feeling calmer and in control, she balanced a jotter on her knees, and tried to work out the sequence of events.

Firstly, she knew that James had agreed that she should go to Fairhaven about four days before he told her. That wasn't unusual - assignments were often agreed in advance of the lower level consultants being told - after all, they were just commodities to be used to earn Grayson Brown money at the end of the day. What was unusual was that less than two weeks after she had arrived at Fairhaven, Aro had received the memo about Tanya Denali's reassignment to another job. That must have happened at the height of the sabotage; when they were all working hard and trying to get some sort of agreement with the Union. Why on earth would Detroit Motors think that this would be a good time to reassign one of the most important people involved in solving the dispute? That was what Bella couldn't get her head around. Why, after only two weeks of being at Fairhaven, was Bella seen as a good candidate for the position of Temporary HR director. By that point she may have made suggestions regarding efficiencies, but neither her HR skills, nor her knowledge of the Motor Industry were at a level required to fill that job.

Glancing at her watch, she saw that she had about two hours until she was due to meet James at Bella Italia. It seemed like a long time since she had spent time with her erstwhile boyfriend, erstwhile boss. Part of her was full of anticipation – this was the man she had devoted the best part of the last two years to. She was aware of the hold he had over her, and that part of her wished that he would make another move on her again. Maybe that could erase the memory of Edward Cullen on her skin, to remove the desperation she felt when she thought of their brief encounter.

Stripping off her jeans and tshirt as she walked towards the shower, she decided to go all out for glamor tonight. She was going to wear her black Versace dress, and put up her mahogany hair so that her slender neck could entrance James, or at least show him what he was missing. Not that her neck was that slender, but she was allowed to dream. Hopefully she wouldn't end up in the same situation as that other notorious owner of a slender neck, Ann Boleyn.

Using the last of the Aveda shampoo and conditioner that the hotel had so thoughtfully provided, she made a mental note to herself to ask for some more from reception before she went out that evening. It was always good to stock up her sponge back for future trips.

With all the time that it took to get her hair up without too much of it falling back down her neck, Bella found herself standing in the elevator at at ten past eight aware that, once again, she was late. Still, it would be sending James a message if she failed to arrive on time.

Walking past the hotel shops, she was wondering how she was going to find out what James knew. More importantly, she asked herself if she would sleep with him to get it. The thought of that was an anathema to her, the Bella that thought it was a good thing to sleep with her boss seemed a million miles away. The sensible side of her psyche wondered what the hell she was doing, meeting up with him again? She had managed not only to move away from the mess that had been their relationship, but she had found that she could at least form a meaningful connection with another man, no matter how fucked up that connection might be.

Walking out of the hotel, she continued down the main street.

"Let me draw your picture!" A street artist called out at Bella as she passed him.

"Why?" She had never thought of herself as the muse type.

"You have beautiful bone structure." He replied, winking at her. Then, looking at his pictures she realised that he drew caricatures.

"No thanks." Bella grinned at him. "I've already got poor self-image. You'd make me feel suicidal for sure."

"My loss, beautiful." He shouted at her.

Bella Italia was at the corner of the main street. Pushing open the distressed wooden door, she was immediately struck by the dank atmosphere inside the restaurant. It was as if somebody had deliberately tried to make it seem authentically Italian by smoking copious amounts of cigarettes. Yet she couldn't see a single person with a lit up cancer stick – perhaps they piped the fumes via the air conditioning system.

"Can I help you?" An authentically accented waiter bowed with a flourish.

"I've come to meet Mr Hunter. Table for two."

"Ah, Meester Hunter will be a little late. Can I get you a drink?"

Bella bit her lip to stop herself from fuming. Why couldn't he even let her make a dramatic late entrance? Like the bastard that he was, he always had to go one better.

"I'll have a bottle of your finest champagne." Bella set herself a challenge to drink the whole lot before James arrived, not only so that things would be easier to bear, but also to teach him a lesson for being late. Three quick glasses later, when he did walk through the door, Bella's vision was getting pretty blurred. She almost wondered if he had brought his twin brother to dine with them, before she realized she was seeing double.

"Sorry I'm late." James leaned down to kiss Bella's right cheek. She waited for the usual shock of electricity to course its way through her body. But it didn't happen; James must be running low in his power supply, or perhaps she was already buzzing way too much from the alcohol in her veins.

"No problem." Bella slurred, gesturing at the Champagne. "I've been celebrating on my own."

"So I see." James's voice rose an octave when he saw the label on the bottle. Bella could see his little brain working overtime, trying to work out how much it cost.

"I saved you some." Bella cajoled, motioning to the waiter to pour the rest of the champagne into their glasses. "Aren't I considerate?"

Champagne always made Bella a giggly drunk. It was much preferable to the melancholy drunkenness caused by a vodka bottle. Vodka always reminded her of the school trip they went on to France, when she was sixteen years old. She had necked half a bottle with the French barman, and began crying on his shoulder about how unhappy she was. Not understanding much English, the barman had used the international language of love to console her the best he could. And consoled she was, at least until morning when the French Lothario she thought she had got off with had transformed into an ugly forty year old without the help of any beer goggles. Not one of her most successful holidays.

"Good vintage." James said worriedly as he took another sip.

"Should be." Bella replied. "It cost you a hundred dollars."

James stared at her in anguished silence. Bella almost expected him to blurt out 'but I've got a family to feed.'

"Anyway, how's life in the beautiful Hunter abode?" Bella inquired, downing the last of her champagne like it was a cup of tea.

James grimaced. "It's as good as it gets." Implying that it didn't get that good.

"Been to any stimulating Parent Teacher conferences recently?"

James gave Bella a sarcastic smile. "You love being a bitch don't you?" He reached out and stroked a bit of hair that had fallen from Bella's messy bun.

"It beats being a walkover." She smiled at him. "Anyway, if I treated you like a King, you wouldn't need a wife, would you?" She felt like she had Champagne goggles on. James's highlights seemed to suit him, catching the flickering glare of the hundreds of candles placed around the restaurant. She was so conflicted, she knew that whatever she felt for him was waning, but she also felt that he was all she deserved. She was the woman who had slept with another man's wife; she didn't deserve to move on.

"I've missed you." James moved his hand from her hair to the back of her head, and pulled her towards him. He paused for a second before putting his lips on hers. Even as he kissed her, Bella realized that it felt wrong.

"No." She pulled away. James stared at her, stunned, and Bella thought that this was probably the first time that she had overtly rejected him. By the look of the expression on his face, it wasn't something that he was either expecting, or was happy about.

"James, this isn't right." Bella frowned, trying hard to find the right words in the alcohol induced chaos in her mind. "We said that we'd try to move away from this."

"But I can't." James put his hand out to stroke her cheek. Bella moved backwards without thinking, flinching away from any contact he may try to have with her. "What the hell is wrong with you?" He spat.

This was really hard. James was her boss. Her experiences over the past few weeks had shown her that he truly had the power to make or break her career. What the hell had made her think it was a good idea to form a relationship with him in the first place?

"There's nothing wrong." She smiled in what she hoped was a conciliatory way. "You told me last time that this was putting your marriage in danger. I would never come between you and your wife." It was a lie, she knew, but a white one. Whilst in the past her actions had definitely put her directly between James and Victoria, she was beginning to see what a stupid situation she had placed herself in. She was ashamed of herself; an emotion that she didn't like feeling. If only Alice was here, she'd know what to say to make Bella feel better.

"But I've tried so hard to forget you baby." He leaned towards her, so closely she could almost feel his warm breath against her face. "It's impossible. I miss you. I want you. Victoria is nothing compared to this."

Oh god, this was what it came down to. The words that a few months ago she would have been so delighted to hear, now made her feel the lowest of the low. She didn't want things to happen this way, everything seemed out of her control, and she didn't know how to make things better.

"Don't say that." She hissed. "Think of your wife. Think of your children." Oh God, what about his children. She couldn't be held responsible for ruining their lives could she? The relationship that she had thought was taking place inside of some special bubble had now spilled out into the outside, world, and was affecting innocent people. "Please tell me you haven't said anything to her?"

James frowned, moving slightly away from her. He sat back in his seat, arms crossed in front of him. He was an intelligent man, he clearly knew when he was getting the elbow. Not that he was taking it well.

"You don't miss me at all?"

Bella swallowed, wishing she hadn't already drained the last of her champagne. How ironic that she had been drinking something that should be used for celebrations, when all she wanted to do was berate herself. "No. You told me we needed distance. I've given it to you." God she sounded cold.

"Is there someone else?" He sounded even colder. Bella shrank back at the tone of his voice, frightened of his sudden change in mood. He had never made her feel frightened before, but the way he was talking to her now sounded inhuman.

"No." She was quick to respond. "I just want to take some time for me. I just need to think about myself." She took a deep breath, trying to chase away the fear. The professional in her won out. "James," she cajoled, "you know that you and Victoria were made for each other. You need to work at your marriage, you need to make things better for the children's sakes."

James stared back at her, for once he was silent. He didn't seem to be handling her rejection very well.

"Why don't you go home right now and see if you can patch things up?" And get the fuck out of my hair, she silently added.

"I suppose I could contact the airline." James looked crestfallen. "Let's just go for a walk first. I don't want to end it like this."

"Okay, I guess a bit of fresh air might do us both some good." Bella grabbed her coat as James asked for the bill.

James did well to hide his displeasure as he paid for the champagne with cash. "I don't dare put it on my credit card." He said to Bella out of the side of his mouth. "If Victoria ever saw that, I'd never explain it away."

When they left the restaurant, they walked slowly back down the main street. James kept his arms firmly by his sides. The air was chilly, and Bella pulled her jacket closely around her as they walked down towards the river. James said very little, although by the tense set of his jaw she assumed that he was thinking about Victoria.

When they reached the embankment of the Huron River, the crowds had thinned out to barely anything. Cheered by the lack of people, James finally relaxed, and leaned with Bella on the railings, overlooking the water.

"Sometimes I wish I could get on one of those boats and get the hell out of here." He said, pointing at a boat passing through the river, half a mile away.

"How would Grayson – Brown survive?" Bella asked drolly. James gave a calculated throaty chuckle, then put his right arm around Bella's waist and pulled her towards him.

Not really wanting it to go any further, Bella muttered, "Careful! Someone might see."

"There's nobody here." James murmured, and then bent his face to kiss her. Feeling his lips touch hers again, Bella tried not to flinch. Her Champagne goggles had been well and truly dissolved by the chill air, and all that James seemed to her now was a slightly foppish ex boyfriend. Still, she didn't have the heart to push him away when she knew he was going to pay dearly for this kiss when he got home.

Over his shoulder she could see a figure standing on the side of the nearby bridge, watching them. Squinting her eyes, she was shocked to see that the tall dark stranger looked unfeasibly like Edward Cullen.

Shocked, she pulled away from James. When she looked again, the figure was gone.

"I'm going to have to get back and call the hotel to reschedule my flight. I need to be off." James said, gesturing somewhere in the direction of the hotel. "I'm sorry we didn't have much chance to talk."

Bella shrugged. "I'll catch up with you later." She wanted him out of there, so that she could find Edward. God only knows what he thought of her having seen her kissing another man. She needed to find him to explain exactly what had happened. Easier said than done, of course, since she really had no idea what had just occurred. And anyway, what kind of explanation did she really owe him? He was the one that was blowing hot and cold, making love to her then failing to call her. Even though he had promised that he would. It really was true that all men were bastards - perhaps she was better off without any of them.

James argued for about one second that he should escort Bella back to the hotel, but as soon as she mentioned the fact that they could easily be spotted returning to a hotel room together, he agreed that a separate return would be best. It was a relief when she saw James's retreating back as he went down the road towards the hotel.

"Fuck." She realized that in the angst of ending their relationship, she had totally forgotten to ask him anything about her assignment at Fairhaven. She thought for a moment about chasing him down and questioning him, but knew in her heart of hearts that she wouldn't get anything useful from him. She was just going to have to find another way to get the information she needed.

* * *

In the Oak Room, as somebody had thoughtfully decided to name the bar (despite the fact that it was fully fitted out in beech and chrome) there was the usual assortment of business men in suits, a few rich travelers from overseas and a couple of people who looked like regulars – the barman kept filling up their drinks without them even asking.

She stepped up to the bar and ordered a Margarita. It was second best to a straight tequila in terms of getting her even drunker, but she didn't think that the Oak Room would look kindly on her slamming the glass down, gulping back the tequila and sucking a lime quarter in quick succession. Although the thought of asking for a certain somebody to help her with body shots made her feel slightly tingly inside.

The salt around the rim of the glass made Bella blanch slightly before taking a large gulp of the cloudy fluid. Just as she put the glass back down on the bar in front of her, she looked up to see a familiar face reflected back at her from the mirror behind the bar.

"What are you doing here?" She asked him, her brow wrinkling in consternation.

Edward shrugged. "I suppose I thought I'd find out what you're up to."

"What do you mean by that?" Bella wished she wasn't quite so drunk. She had a feeling that this conversation would be made so much easier by a little bit of sobriety.

"Well, every time I see you, you're either staggering drunk or hanging off the arm of some guy. Tonight it seemed that you decided to combine the two." Edward's face looked redder than usual. The sort of red that could only be calmed by cool hands and an ice cold room.

Bella was trying not to laugh. "I'm twenty seven years old. That's what twenty seven year old women do. You may have forgotten – I guess it has been a while."

Edward's face wasn't getting any paler. Perhaps a drink would calm him a little.

"I was married by the time I was twenty seven."

Bella smiled. "Funny how you manage to forget that at the most convenient times." Then, realizing she sounded bitchy said, "Sorry, that was below the belt."

Edward sat down on the bar-stool beside her. "D'you want another one?" He gestured at her now empty glass.

"I've got a mini bar in my room"

"Good for you. My room doesn't even have a coffee machine."

Bella gulped and looked around the room, wondering what to say next. The low hum of mumbled conversations in the bar only seemed to intensify the silence between her and Edward. Eventually, her gaze returned to his face. Catching her eye, his frowning mouth gradually turned into a smile. She found herself smiling back at him. Damn him and his sexy, smirky lips.

"I've drunk all the whiskey but the vodka's virtually untouched." She whispered, standing up and walking to the elevator. Edward followed close behind. She pressed the button and turned and grabbed Edward's right hand. "There's nothing between James and me anymore. He's just my boss."

"If you say so." Edward smiled again. "I'll assume that what I saw was a goodbye kiss then." He virtually pushed her into the elevator. "What number?"

Bella leaned across him and pushed the button for floor 4. As she moved back again, she stumbled and almost fell on Edward. As he put his arms out to steady her, she grabbed his shoulders and started to kiss him.

He pulled away almost immediately. "Don't you think we need to talk?" His voice was gentle and so was his hand as he pushed a piece of stray hair behind Bella's ear.

"I thought you'd given up on talking. You certainly seem unable to pick up a phone and call me." Bella was beginning to feel frustrated. She thought he had come here to make love, not conversation.

The elevator reached Bella's floor. They were silent as she unlocked the door using the credit card-like device they had given her at reception. Flipping on the light as they walked in, Bella threw her jacket over the back of a chair, and Edward followed suit.

"Make yourself comfortable. I just need to powder my nose." She suggested, walking into the en-suite bathroom and closing the door quickly behind her. Walking over to the sink, she splashed her face a couple of times with some cold water from the tap, and then leaned her forehead against the bathroom mirror, welcoming the feeling of the cold dampness of the glass against her skin.

"What are you doing?" She murmured to her reflection. In the other room was a member of the enemy camp. And not just any member, but a member whose member she had become intimately acquainted with. She found herself giggling; she cracked herself up sometimes. Or maybe she was cracking up. Right now she wasn't sure she was able to make that distinction.

She seemed to just get rid of one complication in her life, only for it to be replaced by an even more fucked up problem. She needed therapy, or a damn good whack on the head.

"Do you want a coffee?" Edward had obviously taken it upon himself to use the facilities thoughtfully provided in her room, since his own room was lacking.

"Er, yes. Thanks." This whole situation felt weird. Why the hell did she ask him to come up here? She was a complete idiot. Nothing good would come of this, someone was bound to see them entering or leaving, and that someone was bound to tell someone else, and eventually Aro Volturi and James Hunter would find out she was sleeping with the enemy.

"Like Julia Roberts'. She giggled again. Clearly all the alcohol hadn't worn off yet. She must remember that when she eventually managed to find the guts to go out and face him. In the meantime she felt surprisingly at home in the little hotel bathroom.

She stared at her reflection again. Her eyes looked squinty, like they were finding it hard to focus on anything. Probably because they _were_ finding it hard to focus. She gave herself a hard stare. "You are a professional, intelligent woman. You go out there and tell that man to fuck off and stop jeopardizing your career."

Clearly she was a professional and intelligent woman – just one who happened to like talking to herself in a hotel bathroom.

"Are you coming out?" Edward's voice shocked her. It sounded like he was just behind the door.

"Er, yes. Just coming." She grabbed the handle and whipped the door open, only to find that the wood made instant contact with Edward's knee.

"Fuck!" He doubled over in pain.

"Oh my god. I'm so sorry." She bent down to help him, putting her hand out to touch the offended knee cap.

"Don't touch it." He waved her off, and managed to stand himself upright again. Bella tried not to laugh at the absurdity of the situation. At least this seemed to have diffused any lingering sexual tension that may have remained.

Edward smirked at her, also trying not to crack a smile, but he failed, finally allowing himself to bark out a deep laugh. This only made Bella laugh louder, she bent over, trying to catch her breath between guffaws.

"This is so fucked up." She smiled at him in apology, finally managing to get her laughter under control.

"You're telling me." He replied softly. She was aware that he was standing very closely to her, his large muscled body overshadowing her softer, tinier form. She reached out her right hand and gently moved a lock of his hair out of his eyes, and then _bam!_ The sexual tension had arrived right back again.

They stared at each other for a moment. She was attracted to him in the worst way, and was clinging with all she could to the last thread of professionalism that remained in her body. From his stance, she guessed that he felt the same. He was edging closer to her, his hand moved up to capture hers, his fingers curling around her wrist as he softly brought her hand to his chest.

"I really want to fuck you hard right now." He growled as she allowed her fingers to touch his chest through the thin fabric of his shirt. His words sent a message straight between her legs, making her feel tingly and wet. "You've got me completely confused. I don't know what the hell is going on here."

"i want you much." She replied, imagining nothing better than having Edward Cullen riding her all night long. Then added, somewhat reluctantly. "But we can't."

There was silence for a moment, before he softly agreed, "I know."

So they were in agreement. This was wrong wrong wrong, but it felt so good. She felt her body become shrouded in disappointment. Somehow she had wanted him to argue her around, tell her that they had to have sex right here, right now. But he had taken the higher ground, even though she knew it wouldn't have taken much to persuade her.

"So what now?" She asked him, hoping that somehow he would have all the answers.

"I don't know." Clearly he didn't, and she was, once again, disappointed. "We just have to get through the next few days. Take one day at a time." He pulled her closer, until he was holding her around her waist, her hands crushed against his chest. Somehow she felt comforted, like she was not alone.

He swallowed hard and then looked her deep in the eyes, his right hand caressing her cheek. "Tomorrow is going to be hard. I have people relying on me to save their jobs, and I'll do whatever it takes. I can't let them down."

His hand moved downwards, cupping the side of her chin. Bella closed her eyes, her body reveling in the feelings that such a gentle touch created in her body. She felt his face touch the top of her head, inhaling the scent of her hair.

"And when this is over…." His voice was muffled, he was talking directly into her hair.

"Yes?" She whispered, wanting him to continue.

"When this is over, then I will find you, and this...whatever you want to call this thing that is happening between us... we'll work it out."

Her heart was beating like crazy, she wanted nothing more than to work this thing out _now_. But he was right, tomorrow was going to be difficult for all of them; the last thing they needed to do was openly declare themselves before taking opposing sides in the negotiations.

"One day at a time." She echoed his words of a day earlier. As she looked back at his handsome, chiseled face, she finally felt that in all this mess maybe she had found the one person that she could trust. And it felt good, so good to not be alone any more. Suddenly the thought of tomorrow's negotiations no longer felt so daunting, more like something that had to be endured.

He gave her a soft smile. "I need to go now before I do something we might both regret." Then softly, slowly and oh so gently he leaned down and softly brushed his lips against hers, before standing up straight and walking towards the door. She could see the he had his hands so tightly fisted that his knuckles had turned red. For once she managed to listen to her head and not her heart, and restrained herself from running after him and flinging herself at himself feet.

As the door closed gently behind him she whispered, "I wouldn't have regretted it."


	15. Chapter 15

**A/N Thank you all once again for the reviews, follows and recommendations. I read every single review and want to let you know how much they mean to me. **

**CHAPTER 15 - Negotiations**

A loud screech woke Bella from her not so gentle slumber. Jumping up, she slammed her hand down several times before she made useful contact with the alarm clock snooze button, the clock crashing against the wooden table as she did so. After Edward had left she had all but fallen into bed; made desperately tired by a combination of alcohol, pent up sexual frustration and anticipation of the antagonistic meetings scheduled for the next day.

Aro had arranged for a car to pick them all up at 6am, and drive them to Detroit Motors' Head Office, which was actually only a stone's throw from the hotel, and certainly within walking distance. However, this was a Company which made cars and trucks, and no self-respecting member of the management team would be seen dead on two legs when they could be seated within four wheels.

The main meeting was scheduled to start at 1pm. The decision to hold it after lunch was a strategic one; it was felt that rather like wasps in high summer the Union would be at their most docile straight after lunch. Bella suspected that it could well be the other way around. The management team were much more likely to over indulge at their midday meal than the blue collar workers.

She grabbed a black shift dress from the hotel wardrobe, and hung it on the bathroom door so that the steam from the shower she was about to take would erase any residual wrinkles that had developed during her journey here. She walked into the shower – turned it up to full heat, and allowed the water to stream over her body, both waking her up and soothing her skin.

Once dressed, she made her way downstairs to the lobby. They had agreed to eschew the hotel breakfast in favor of a working breakfast laid on at headquarters.. Bella had sampled Detroit Motors working breakfasts before at Fairhaven; they usually consisted of slightly cold bacon in a hard, crusty sub, and a variety of pastries and coffee. She had taught herself to only eat the fruit that was usually put on the side of the tray as an afterthought, thinking that at least the kitchens hadn't had a chance to muck about with a banana.

Aro was waiting for her, along with the two Men in Gray plus Jasper Hale and another man that she hadn't met before. She assumed that he was the chief negotiator: Jared Cameron. Jared was a mythical creature, rarely seen or wheeled out unless a dispute was judged to be significantly detrimental to the Detroit Motor Company. Rumor had it that when his presence was not required, he lived in a cave in the basement of Headquarters, biting the heads off of chickens and bats.

He certainly seemed to be intimidating. Tall and wiry, with the palest skin, he had the face of a man who rarely cracked a smile. It was long and thin, with a prominent roman nose, and sparse patrician lips. But his eyes – icy blue – drew your attention right in. They were expressive and moving, and conveyed exactly how he was feeling without any need for superfluous facial expressions. Bella was glad that he was on her side.

"Aro." He nodded softly, before leading the way out of the lobby towards the black town cars, the rest following after him like minions. Or maybe disciples would be a better description, Bella mused, grabbing at anything that could paint her in a slightly better light.

As they filed into the two cars, she found herself seated in the front vehicle, with Aro and Jared. The silence was thick, and as always she felt the urge to cut it with inane chatter. She managed to restrain herself, aware that Jared did not look like the sort of man who suffered inanity in silence. She really didn't want things to get off on a bad foot with him.

Looking up she caught Aro's eye, he was staring at her expression in amusement. He winked quickly and gave her a big smile. "Looking forward to the circus?" He asked her.

"I'm pretty sure it is going to be a great learning experience." She had taken Dodging the Question 101 as part of her Business degree.

"It certainly will. Jared is the best negotiator in the industry, he'll have the unions eating out of our hands by this afternoon."

"Lets not get cocky." Jared's voice was a deep baritone. "Feelings are going to be running very high today. I'm not anticipating much movement until tomorrow."

Oh god, Bella had hoped that things would be cut and dried by the end of today, and she'd be merrily on her way back to Fairhaven tomorrow morning. She was already counting the days until her assignment had finished and she was on her way back to Seattle. Or even better, being hunted down by Edward Cullen.

Mmm, Edward. Even just thinking the name sent shivers down her spine. The way he had looked last night, as he touched her then held her softly, made her stomach clench. She just wanted to be with him, on him, under him. But it wasn't just about sex, although she was obviously gagging for that if her behavior was anything to go by. It was also the fact that he was so easy to talk to, to stare at, and to laugh with. She already felt more for him after a few brief encounters than she had felt with James over the past two years. The thought frightened her; she wasn't the type to fall head over heels for anybody. Self-preservation had always been her aim; she had learned from the earliest age that nobody was going to look after her better than she would look after herself.

The car had stopped, and Bella realized that they had completed the short journey to headquarters. They alighted from the vehicles directly outside of the revolving doors to the lobby, and one by one they filed in. Jared stalked straight over to the executive elevator – which went up to the lofty heights of the executive floor. Whilst all other floors were covered with grey linoleum tiles, the executive one was carpeted in green, and the doors were heavy oak, letting visitors know how lucky they were to be allowed in such hallowed ground.

The Management Team spent the morning in the Executive Conference room, plotting out strategies and making contingency plans in case things did not go their way. Bella found herself becoming more comfortable in the environment, and recognized that Jared's mind was extremely clever and strategic – something that she understood well. By the time they broke for coffee, she had made a number of suggestions that Jared had thought sensible, and had even allowed a few of them to become part of the strategy.

They ate lunch in the main canteen, all part of Jared's plan that the negotiating team appear part of the workforce, and show the workers that they were all in this together. Bella wondered how often Jared actually made it down to the first floor, but was pleasantly surprised when the food server knew him by his first name. After a quick lunch, they all partook of a final cup of coffee before adjourning to the First floor conference room to meet their fate.

* * *

It was ten minutes past one, and the other side still hadn't arrived. Jared had warned the team that the Union would use a number of tactics to swing the power to their side, and asked that none of them sit in their seats until the other side arrived. He wanted to show them that their lateness was of no consequence to the management team.

Bella was leaning on the window ledge, looking at the sidewalk outside, watching the people like ants swarm everywhere during their lunch hour. Aro was sat on the edge of the table playing with his mobile phone. Bella suspected that he was playing angry birds, but he had the screen turned away from her and the sound off, so it was only a supposition. Jasper wandered over to Bella, clearly bored with the waiting around.

"How are you finding the Westin?" He asked, as he, too, leaned against the ledge.

Bella was about to reply when the door to the conference room swung open. She looked up to see Garrett Forest entering the room, quickly followed by Edward, Emmett and about ten others. If their aim was to outnumber the management team, they had succeeded quite handsomely.

"Ah, Garrett, good to see you." Jared leaned over the table and offered his hand to Garrett, who hesitated momentarily before grasping it. In a battle for supremacy, both men held on longer than was natural, and from the look on their faces Bella could tell that each was trying to prove they had the stronger handshake.

Finally, having tired of watching the human equivalent of peacock tail shaking, she looked up at Edward. He was dressed in a dark blue suit, with a red tie, his hair slightly mussed, but not as untidy as she had previously seen it. He looked breathtakingly handsome, and Bella had to keep reminding herself that they were on opposing sides. She tried not to let her mouth water as she took in the way the suit molded to his lean, muscled body.

And then he looked at her, and she stared back, and everybody in the room seemed to disappear for a moment. She could feel her heart beating in her chest, her mouth dry, her sex wet. He didn't smile, just gazed back, his deep green eyes roaming over her face, her body.

"This is Edward Cullen, acting Union Leader for Fairhaven." Forest introduced him to Jared Cameron. Edward tore his gaze away from her chest, and shook Jared's hand, his face remaining stoic.

"Cameron." He nodded, then introduced Emmett. There was a flurry of introductions and hand shaking before each team sat down at their respective side of the table. Bella was reminded of the first time she had sat opposite the union, at Fairhaven, and wondered if Edward was feeling Carlisle's absence at this meeting.

"Right," Jared cleared his throat, looking straight at Garrett Forest who sat opposite him. "We're here today for emergency talks regarding the future of Detroit Motor's Fairhaven Plant, and to discuss the measures that are required if keeping it open is to remain a possibility."

"And we're here to stop you closing the plant." Edward replied in a deadpan voice. He was staring intently at Jared, who returned his gaze steadily. There was no sexual tension there, just animosity and maybe even a slight bit of hatred. Bella was secretly proud of Edward for responding instead of letting Garrett do so, after all, neither Garrett nor Jared worked at Fairhaven, and neither had a vested interest in keeping the factory open.

"Well, let's hope that we can come to a mutually agreeable conclusion." Jared replied, opening up his laptop and using it to project a spread sheet onto the screen. "Here you'll see the profit and loss for Fairhaven over the last three years, with a big emphasis on loss." He clicked onto another page. "And here is the report compiled by Isabella Swan of Grayson Brown, showing the effect that implementing efficiency measures would have on the P&L." Bella stared at the screen, aware that the eyes of the opposing side were all on her. She felt her cheeks flush and swallowed hard, hoping that Jared would quickly move on.

"From those figures, I can't see that there is really anything to negotiate. Just really for you to accept." Jared finished his speech and looked expectantly over at the other side.

"_Isabella_ Swan is a management consultant with very little experience of the Motor Industry." Edward drawled with an emphasis on her first, formal name. He pointedly avoiding looking at her.

"And whilst she may have some ideas of how the factory can become more efficient, she has absolutely no idea of how this will affect the workers, and even less idea of how to manage employee relations in a place like Fairhaven."

Edward turned his gaze to Bella, and like a moth to a flame she felt compelled to look at him. The expression on his face was in stark contrast to last night. Either he was a great actor, or he had a twin brother who really liked her. She didn't really care for either scenario. She took in a deep breath, reminding herself that they were both playing roles here. He had told her last night that they needed to take one day at a time; but what if she didn't want the days to end up like this?

"Our first demand would be that Isabella Swan be removed from her role as consultant at the Fairhaven plant." Edward finished and sat down. Bella looked up at Aro uncomfortably, she felt like Isaac being led by Abraham to a place of sacrifice. What was even worse is she wasn't sure how hard Aro was going to fight for her, he may see letting her go as an easy win. She narrowly avoided flipping Edward the finger and telling him to go fuck himself. Her anger flared as she thought about the words he had said to her the previous night. Even if he was trying to save the factory, trying to use her to score points was unacceptable. She wanted to drag him outside and punch his beautiful face.

"Bella Swan is at Fairhaven at my request." Aro replied softly. "She is here to try and help the factory have a future, if we disregard her suggestions then we may as well shut the factory down now."

"So that's a no?" Garrett questioned, staring at Jared. Jared looked at Aro who shook his head.

"That's a no." Jared confirmed. Bella allowed herself to breathe a soft sigh of relief.

"Then we would like to take an adjournment to discuss our other demands." Garrett replied, and in unison all the others stood up with him and started heading towards the door. Edward was at the rear of the procession, and Bella looked at him hoping to see a hint of regret in his face for what he had said about her. She saw nothing, just the back of his head as he walked out of the door.

As soon as the door closed behind the last of them, Aro walked over to Bella, and grabbed her by the shoulders. "You okay?" He asked her, staring at her to get some visual confirmation that she was shaken up by events.

Bella nodded. She didn't feel ready to talk yet. The feelings rushing through her mind were confusing; she was angry about the way Edward had asked for her sacrifice, but more than that she was feeling hurt and rejected.

"I wasn't expecting that." Aro said to her. "I would have warned you if I had thought they were going to gun for you."

"Well thanks for sticking up for me." Bella's voice was unsurprisingly shaky. She gave him a weak smile. "I'm not sure what they were trying to achieve by getting me out."

"They're simple souls." Jared's voice broke in. "They see your presence as the reason that everything has changed, and hope that if you are made to leave then things will go back to the way they used to be." He shook his head. "We still have a lot to do to educate them about Fairhaven's current financial situation. Until they grasp the economic realities, they are never going to agree to make efficiencies."

Jasper picked up the telephone and requested that a tray of coffees be brought in. Turning to Bella he explained "It's going to be a long day. We'll need all the caffeine injections we can get."

When the coffees arrived Jared excused himself, explaining that he wished to meet with Garrett Forest to try and gauge exactly what the union were fighting for. Aro clarified that informal meetings within meetings happened all the time with the Union, and sometimes it was the only way to get some sort of agreement in order to move the agenda forward. To Bella it just seemed that there would be yet more sitting around, waiting and doing nothing but get high on coffee.

She checked her blackberry for emails. There was the usual load of junk and items that could wait until she got back from Fairhaven. There was also one from James, explaining that he had got back okay, and that he would be calling her soon to discuss things. Bella quickly deleted it from her inbox without bothering to reply. She was sick of men, and their manipulations and she sure as hell wasn't going to allow James – _or any other bastard _– to fuck her career up for her.

She had opened her heart to these people, and all they did was push her over and then kick her whilst she was down. The humiliation of Edward asking for her to be removed from Fairhaven brought tears to her eyes. Thank God for Aro, at least one man in her life appeared to show a little bit of chivalry.

And then her mind wandered to the email she had read yesterday. Perhaps she shouldn't be so ready to give her trust over to him. He had, after all, exchanged emails with James regarding her future, emails that he had never told her that he had written. He had plotted with her boss to have her come to Fairhaven, and then to have her become HR Director, without so much as a by your leave from her. Perhaps she should be like Mulder and Scully and trust no one.

The day continued with reconvening and adjournments, and Garrett and Jared holing up in an office to discuss road blocks. Bella spent the afternoon pointedly avoiding looking at Edward, although she did manage to exchange smiles with Emmett a couple of times, in a childish attempt to make Edward angry. By Seven o'clock in the evening, hunger was making everyone testy, and it was agreed by mutual consent to reconvene the next morning.

Aro suggested to the Management Team that everybody go back to the hotel to refresh themselves, and they would meet in the executive club room at 9pm for dinner and a debrief. Even the word made Bella want to smile, remembering James's conversation with his wife the previous day. She hoped that Aro hadn't meant it in that way, because her panties were staying firmly on her ass, for now and the foreseeable future.

As she left the Conference Room, Bella decided to use the bathroom, knowing that her need to pee just wouldn't wait until she had arrived back at the hotel. She told the others to go ahead without her, the short walk back to the hotel would probably calm her down. Turning left down the narrow corridor when the rest of the team had turned right, she came face to face with the intimidating presence of Edward Cullen.

This time she allowed herself to look straight back at him, glaring furiously at his annoyingly handsome face. She felt a hot ball of fury flash through her body. He had tried to have her removed from Fairhaven, and seemed to think that the future of her career was fair game. After all he had said to her the previous night, the minute he could sacrifice her in the name of the greater good, he did.

"Excuse me." Bella muttered angrily, pushing past him deliberately as she stomped down the corridor. She had little chance of pushing his 200 pound frame over, but she would take _any_ injury she could inflict.

"Wait." His voice was low, commanding, and only served to piss her off even more.

"I'm busy," she spat. He grabbed at her arm and she pulled away, almost running away from him now. Then she stopped and swung around, glaring at him once again, deciding that she wasn't going to run away from him any more. If anybody was going to be running, it would be him.

"Don't fucking tell me to wait." She emphasized each word with a jab of her finger towards him. "If you had your way I'd already be out of here you motherfucking Judas."

"Bella." He sighed, running his hands through his hair. "This is all just games, just tactics."

"Well you and your tactics can go fuck yourselves," Bella shouted. "This isn't a game to me. This is my career, this is my life. I'm not a pawn in your game, I'm a person who is affected by the demands you make." She was so angry now; she swore that she could actually feel her blood starting to boil. "So don't ask me to understand your goddamned tactics. I don't like them, and I sure as hell don't like you."

She swung around and stomped back to the bathroom, planning to take long enough in there to discourage him from waiting. She was proud of herself for standing up to him and his bloody union tactics. She wasn't going to be messed around anymore. And if he thought she was still waiting for him to hunt her down to talk then he was a lunatic.

She pushed the door open and walked towards the stall. To her surprise, just before she walked into it, she heard the bathroom door open again. The Office Building was deserted at that time of night, and it was no surprise to her, as she turned around to look, to see Edward Cullen walking into the bathroom behind her.

"What part of Ladies' room don't you understand?" She spat out, "do you want me to contact security to ask you to be removed?"

"Not really." Edward shrugged. He was so much calmer than she was, but this only served to make her feel even angrier.

"So what do you want? You want me to leave?"

"I never said that." Edward moved towards her slowly, like a child towards an untamed animal, as if he was afraid she would run away from him again.

"You specifically said that. You asked for me to be removed."

Edward smiled patiently. "But I knew that you wouldn't be removed."

"What the hell do you mean?" Bella wasn't even feeling confused any more. She was feeling like a plaything, being fought over by a group of children - eventually they would just tear her apart.

"What I mean is that I knew that Aro wouldn't let you leave. I was just confirming my theory. You are too important to their strategy to let you go so easily."

"What strategy?" Bella was all ears now. She hadn't told Edward about the emails, but somehow all this seemed to fit together, like the edges of a jigsaw. If only she could find the middle pieces, things might start to make sense.

"I'm not sure on all the specifics yet, but I am pretty certain that he has one. If you were only here as a Consultant, he would have agreed immediately to our demands to let you go. You have made your pitch for efficiencies; your job here is essentially done. I don't know why he thinks you are so important, but I know that he wants you to stay at Fairhaven for a reason."

Bella paused, letting Edward's words sink in. They made sense, and only confirmed the way that she had thought earlier. She should be expendable, just a service that they had purchased, which they didn't need now that she had made her recommendations. Yet Aro had conspired to keep her at Fairhaven by offering her a job she was neither qualified to carry out, or even interested in doing. So the question was, why?

"If what you say is true, then what the hell should I do next?" Bella wanted nothing more than for him to take her in his arms and tell her that everything was going to be all right. But even she knew that if he did this, he would be lying.

"I'm not sure. I want to meet you later, we can talk about it once we've had something to eat."

"I have to eat with Aro and the others," Bella replied dully. At the moment she couldn't think of anything she wanted to do less than share a feast with Aro, Jared and the Men in Gray. Only the thought of Jasper being there gave her any comfort.

"Then we'll meet afterwards. Give me a call and I'll come to your room." Edward held his phone out to her, and Bella programmed her number in. Within a second he had sent her a text so that she could save his number.

"Okay," she agreed, adding him to her contacts. "But I'll come to your room" She needed to allow herself the possibility of escape. The thought of being alone with him in a bedroom again made her blush, God only knew how she was going to resist him two nights in a row. Especially now, when her defenses were down, and any loyalty she felt to James or Detroit Motors had vanished with the wind.

Yet she couldn't help but let the excitement engulf her. They both knew there was chemistry between them, but she wasn't sure that it was going to be enough. As they walked out of the bathroom and went their separate ways, she was aware that their relationship was balanced on a knife edge. One way or another, she knew that she would have to decide what her priorities were, and where her loyalties lay. Most importantly she would have to make a giant leap of faith and put her trust in Edward Cullen; the one person she really should be avoiding. Could she do this, without losing everything in the process?


	16. Chapter 16

**A/N Thank you all once again for all your lovely reviews, recs, and follows, I really appreciate every single one of them. Lots of thanks go to the lovely Belle Dean for Beta'ing this chapter. Any mistakes left are purely mine.**

* * *

**CHAPTER 16 - Gyms and Coffees**

Somehow Bella made it back to the hotel in one piece, but it had been a close call. Her mind had been all over the place, she hadn't been able to concentrate on anything, and since she'd been walking, even crossing the streets seemed to cause a hazard beyond her control. Only when she'd heard the horn of a car had she realized that she was even on the road, let alone notice the fact that she had managed to walk straight in front of oncoming traffic. It wasn't safe for her to be out on the streets.

Once in her hotel room, she found herself pacing the plush carpeted floor, unable to sit still in case she started to scream. She felt the need to inflict physical violence upon somebody; a feeling that she had rarely felt before, but now it felt like the predominant driver in her being.

There was nothing for it. The only place that she could think of that would give her any chance of getting a hold of this fury was the hotel gym. This was not necessarily a place that she frequented by choice, although like any seasoned business traveller, she always packed her gym gear in her suitcase 'just in case'. But at that moment it might just offer the chance of calming things down before she did something she might come to regret.

So she dressed in her tight lycra knee length leggings and the skimpy vest that somehow accentuated her meagre chest, and made her way down to the gym on the second floor. The room was fairly small, consisting of a few treadmills with some elliptical trainers and exercise bikes behind. To the right were the weight machines and a rack of free weights, but Bella wasn't intending to do anything except keep running until she managed to get the myriad of mixed feelings under control.

Not that she had anywhere near enough stamina to run a marathon, though that may be what she needed to do if she was going to gain any semblance of control over herself. Standing on the rubber belt, she pressed the start button and slowly increased the speed to seven miles per hour. Her legs, having spent most of the day curled underneath her as she sat at a conference table, immediately screamed for mercy and her muscles began to cramp, but she continued to run through the initial pain, knowing that after a minute or two they would begin to loosen up.

After five minutes, not only were they warmed up, but she had found a steady rhythm, running to the beat of the playlist compiled especially for this kind of occasion on her IPod. It was a playlist ominously titled 'Screw Men' and included a mix of pop anthems from various female artists, including the Gloria Gaynor classic "I will survive." Halfway through a particularly heartfelt chorus of survival, Bella's attention was brought back to the room by a bang on the side of her treadmill.

Looking to her right side, she saw Emmett McCarty on the treadmill to her right. Dressed in basketball shorts and a vest, he appeared to be checking out her speed, and then cranking his own treadmill to 0.5 of a mile faster than hers. Bella pushed her earplugs deeper into her ears, trying to ignore him, but it was tricky to pretend somebody wasn't there when they were pounding on a treadmill next to you like a herd of elephants.

A minute later he hit her treadmill again, seemingly looking for attention. She carried on running, but quickly came to realise that Emmett had the emotional intelligence of a small child; rather than realising that Bella was ignoring him, he chose to believe she just couldn't hear him, so he started banging even louder on the side of her machine.

"What?" she shouted, pulling one earphone out of her ear. The combination of having to talk, along with coordinating the movement of her hands, led her to have to slow her legs down. In an effort to avoid falling off the treadmill altogether, she jumped quickly so that her feet were on each side of the treadmill, and safely away from the moving belt which seemed to want to eject her half way across the room.

"What do you want Emmett?" she felt annoyed at the intrusion. For once her workout had been going well, the anger and confusion that she felt had led to her working harder than she usually did. She was fed up that he had interrupted her burst of enthusiasm.

"Hey!" Emmett put both his hands up in surrender, whilst simultaneously managing to carry on running at a high speed. His agility only served to aggravate Bella more. "I only wanted to say hi."

"Hi," Bella deadpanned, before putting her earplug back in. She hoped that she had appeased Emmett, and started the treadmill up again. She only wanted to run another couple of miles, and then she would get out of there and up to the Executive Board room to meet the management team.

She was just getting back into her stride when she felt another bang on her treadmill. She sighed loudly in frustration – something that was quite difficult to do when she was already out of breath. "What is it Emmett?"

"You were great today," he gave her a massive grin. "We thought for sure you were going to rip Edward a new one when he asked that you be removed, but you just sat there looking so cool."

In spite of herself, Bella couldn't help smiling back. "I might have looked cool, but I still wanted to tear him limb from fucking limb."

"I think you already have," he was still grinning, still running. The man had the constitution of an ox.

"What do you mean?" she slowed her treadmill down to a brisk walk. Emmett may have been able to run and have a conversation at the same time, but Bella wasn't going to risk it. The last thing she wanted to do was turn up at tomorrow's negotiations with her leg in plaster.

"I mean, he's all riled up over you. He can't stop talking about you. It's all Bella this and Bella that, and what the hell does Aro want with Bella?" Emmett turned the speed up another quarter of a mile per hour. Bella could only admire his stamina.

"Well, the feeling isn't mutual."

Emmett laughed out loud at her obvious lie. "That's not what your face was saying when you were staring at him over the conference table." Oh God, had she really been that obvious? If even Emmett could see it, then surely Aro and Jared had seen right through her.

She blushed, wondering what the hell her expression must have looked like. Things were only going to go from bad to worse if everybody realized that she and Edward had a thing for each other. She could end up removed from this assignment, and even worse, if her superiors at Grayson Brown got wind of it, she could end up out of a job altogether. Reputation was everything in management consultancy, and this could only serve to ruin hers.

"Hey, don't worry; it was only obvious to me," maybe Emmett was more astute than she had given him credit for — he understood that she had concerns that her bosses had also noticed, "Edward confided in me last night, about the two of you. He was wondering if he should remove himself from the negotiating team because of a conflict of interest."

"But he didn't?" Bella questioned. God, her life would have been so much easier if he had done just that.

"No way!" Emmett replied vehemently. "Edward's our best hope. If he can't fight for the workers then nobody can." Bella was surprised at Emmett's response. She really hadn't given him enough credit, not only was he more empathetic than she had thought, but he was also extremely loyal to Edward. Any hope that Aro had of dividing and conquering the Union seemed futile.

They both finished their workouts and walked out of the gym to their respective hotel rooms. Whilst their conversation had been brief, Bella was surprised at how much she had gleaned from it. It appeared that not only was Edward serious about pursuing her, but he was so serious that he had confided in his co-worker about it. Plus the union was stronger than either Aro or Jared were giving them credit for. Everybody had thought that as soon as the leadership race began, the union would split down the middle between Edward and Emmett's supporters. Now, Bella thought, it appeared that Emmett supported Edward as Union leader. She wasn't sure where that left management's strategy.

After dinner, the Management team sat down and brainstormed their reactions to the day's events. Jared had seemed fairly happy with how things had gone, and felt certain that the management and union would come to some level of agreement the next day. Aro was extremely grumpy; Bella wasn't sure why this was since things had mostly gone his way today. However, his replies to her questions were short and terse, and in the end they had all decided to make it an early night and reconvene the next morning at headquarters.

Bella quickly exited the Club Room, walking briskly to the elevator to avoid having to make any more inane conversation. Her heart was already beating wildly in anticipation of seeing Edward again. She didn't care what he had to say to her, she just really wanted him to hold her again – his arms around her made her feel safer than she had in a very long time.

The elevator took a long time to arrive. Within a few moments, Jasper had caught up with her and waited alongside her for the car to reach their level. Aro and Jared must have stayed with the Men In Gray in the club room. Bella wondered what else they were discussing and whether it had anything to do with her extended employment at Fairhaven.

"You okay?" Jasper asked her, as he stared at the dial above the elevator doors. "You seem quite flustered."

Bella swallowed, aware once again that her feelings were all too transparent. It wouldn't do for any of the management team to get an inkling of her planned meeting with Edward tonight. Not only would it draw Aro's attention to her relationship with the union leader, it would also tip him off that she knew he was up to something. And by this point, she was certain that he _was_ up to something.

"I'm fine. Just feeling a bit tired and emotional," Bella smiled at the financial controller. "It's been a long day."

"That it has. Hopefully we'll be able to recharge our batteries and come out fighting tomorrow morning."

"Oh, I definitely intend to fight," Bella stated, knowing full well that she wasn't referring to tomorrow's negotiations.

As soon as she was back in her room, she lost no time in texting Edward.

_Have finished dinner. Ready when you are._

Within a minute she received a reply.

_I'm in room 221 second floor. Bring me a coffee._

Bella smirked and quickly typed out a response.

_Am not the little woman. Make your own darn coffee._

After sending the message, she quickly changed into a pair of yoga pants and a sweatshirt, choosing comfort over appearance for once. She grabbed her key and pulled the door closed behind her, deciding to use the stairwell to walk down the two flights of stairs, rather than having to wait an interminable length of time for the elevator to arrive.

When she got to room 221, Edward was leaning on the doorjamb, looking to all intents and purposes like a Greek god. He was half smiling, half smirking at her, his phone in his hand. "I guess you'd like me to make the coffees tonight."

"That would be nice," Bella replied, walking past him into his room. "I'm a big fan of equality."

"Fair enough," he turned to look at her, "but since I've already told you that I don't have a coffee machine, I'm afraid you're going to have to go without tonight," he smirked as the realization washed over her. Then, looking at her expression as she turned to look at his room, his smile got even wider.

"Did you forget I had a basic room?"

Looking around she took in how small his room was. It consisted of a single King size bed, a chair, and a long desk like piece of furniture on top of which was a small flatscreen TV. Where the hell was she going to sit? Even the chair was covered in clothes, leaving the bed as her only option if she wanted to take the weight off her feet. Her hopes of keeping things professional looked sadly futile.

"So, is this where we talk?" she asked, finally coming to terms with the fact that they would have to sit on the bed.

"Talking is good, I've got a lot of things I want to say to you tonight." He leaned towards her, running the palm of his hand down her hair, "God your hair is gorgeous. It always smells so sweet."

Bella took a deep breath and let herself lean into his hand. As he sat down beside her he pulled her so that her body was lined alongside his, their hips and chests crushed together.

"How are you doing?" he murmured, kissing her on the head, before resting his cheek on her hair.

"I've had better days. I'm not sure what on earth is going on at the moment. Everybody seems to have different agendas, and I seem to be right at the top of all of them." _And what the hell are you doing to my body?_

"Well, you're definitely at the top of my agenda. Maybe we can talk things through, work out what's going on together."

"But you're on the other side. I'm not sure it's ethical for us to discuss anything right now," Bella was conflicted, she wanted nothing more than to confide in Edward, but her professional reputation was important; she didn't want to do anything to endanger that.

"I've been thinking about that," his finger was running up and down her arm, causing the most delicious tingles to dance across her skin. If he could do that with just one finger, God only knew what he could do with the rest of his hands. "I think we need to agree that whatever we discuss here stays between us. I'll promise not to use anything you tell me in the negotiations and you can do the same. We both have a lot to lose."

That sounded sensible, a bit of a variation of 'What Happens In Vegas Stays In Vegas.' "Okay," she agreed. She looked at him sitting next to her, his bronze hair reflecting the light of the desk lamp beside the bed; his green eyes staring back at her. She couldn't believe that somebody like Edward would have any interest in someone like her. In the past she had made do with men like James — men who weren't emotionally available and had little interest in her above and beyond of what her body had to offer.

She shook her head, trying to get these emotions out of her brain. They needed to concentrate on work, on what it was that he thought he knew. Her mind wandered back to the last time that they had met up to talk about things — at the Twilight bar. That hadn't ended well, or perhaps it had ended too well, depending on your point of view.

"So, you think Aro is up to something?" she asked him as he leaned towards her, his hand reaching out to touch her hair again. Edward put his arm around her and gently pulled her back until they were lying on the bed together, Bella curled up against his long hard body. If she squinted, she could pretend that the flowery bedspread was a meadow, and they were lovers lying on the grass in the open air, discussing their future. Lying there, in the small compact hotel room, really only big enough for one, she realized how rarely she really trusted anybody else enough to drop her guard with them.

"I know Aro is up to something," Edward finally answered her question, "he came to Fairhaven three years ago with this fierce reputation for fighting the Union, turning losses into profits and bringing in new working practices and then did precisely nothing. For three years, Carlisle and I were always suspicious of his motives and Detroit Motor's reasons for putting him there."

"But surely you must have been happy with his inaction?" Bella queried, trying to understand Edward's reasoning behind his words.

He laughed loudly. "Baby, of course we were happy that we could carry on as normal. But we weren't stupid, we knew that other Detroit Motor factories were having efficiencies made and being brought into the twenty first century," his right hand brushed down past her shoulder to her waist, dipping under her sweatshirt. His fingers rubbed softly against the skin there.

Bella's first reaction to his words was "He called me baby!" That combined with the feeling of his fingers against the soft skin of her stomach was conspiring to make her forget about work for a while and concentrate on more pressing matters.

"It's like you're two different people," she whispered, looking up at him through heavy lidded eyes, "the Union Edward who sat opposite me today, angry with me. Then you're the sweet Edward who knows exactly how to make me feel better about everything." She sighed. "It is totally confusing me."

He laughed again, this time more softly. Using the hand that was caressing her waist, he pulled her closer to him, until her body was so close to his that she was almost lying on top of him.

"See what I mean?" she mumbled into his shirt, "confusing."

"And conflicting," Edward replied. "When I saw you staring daggers at me across the table today, part of me wanted to drag you out and fuck it out of you." His hand was back under her sweater again; this time he was softly trailing his fingers up her back, creating a line of fire all the way up her spine.

"How am I supposed to concentrate when you say things like that? Not to mention the way you're touching me" she complained, amazed and perturbed by how hot his words made her feel.

"Do you want me to stop?" He pulled his hand away from her back. She moved backwards to reconnect his hand against her body again.

"No. Don't stop. But I'm not leaving until we've talked through your theory."

"That gives me a reason to stop talking then," he smiled again. "so that I can keep you here with me all night."

Just the thought made Bella's heart beat erratically. She tried to swallow but her mouth was so dry. She couldn't remember the last time she had connected with somebody like this, and she was sure that she hadn't done it recently without the help of alcohol to smooth things over. But here she was, stone cold sober, enjoying the company of a man who seemed to want to keep her with him. It was a real eye opener.

Breathing deeply, she made an attempt to bring things back to the subject of work. "Why do you think that Aro did nothing in the past three years until now?" she was intrigued to hear the answer.

"Honestly?" he looked down at her, his smile disappearing, "I think he always intended to close the place down. If he had turned things around when he first arrived, we would have stood a fighting chance. But now, even if we agreed to all the efficiencies, I still don't think we can turn things around enough to make a good profit. I looked at those figures just like you did - Ypsilanti are beating the hell out of us with their profits."

Bella snuggled into Edward and thought about what he had said. His words had a ring of authenticity to them, but nothing she had seen from the management side so far led her to believe that this could be on the agenda.

Then she remembered that there was another thing that she hadn't told Edward. "They've made me acting HR Director."

"What?" Edward shouted, sitting straight up on the bed, Bella's body falling away from him onto the soft mattress as he did so. She scrambled up to face him, seeing how angry her words had just made him.

"Aro wants me to take Tanya's place as HR Director. My boss has agreed," Bella reiterated.

"And you fucking said yes?" he was really mad now, a hint of the man she had faced across the conference room table was coming through, and she began to feel a little apprehensive.

"Calm down," she tentatively put her hand on his shoulder, hoping to reconnect with him, "it's just temporary, for a few weeks," at least she hoped so.

"What the hell is he playing at?" Edward wondered out loud, calming down enough to put his hand on top of Bella's and move it downwards to his chest. "He's definitely got something up his sleeve. I just wish I knew what the hell it is."

Bella sighed, glad that he had managed to get his anger under control. She really did not like it when he became red faced, and although she knew he would never do anything to hurt her, she couldn't help but be intimidated by all six feet two of him.

"I have no idea," she replied, "but he and James Hunter seem to have agreed on all of this without even talking to me," she decided not to tell him about the anonymous email and memo for now; she didn't want him to build this into an even bigger conspiracy than he already had.

"James is your boss's name?" he clarified.

"That's him," she agreed.

"The one you were screwing?" he sounded pissed off again. His mercurial moods had to have been the inspiration for Katy Perry's _Hot And Cold_

"We were an item for a while," Bella placated, letting her hand rub soft circles over his chest. "We're not any more." She looked up at Edward through her lashes. "And we were never married. At least not to each other. And we never had kids," she said pointedly.

Edward closed his eyes as she undid a couple of buttons on his shirt, then pushed her hand through the gap, touching his skin and the soft covering of hair that covered his chest.

"True." He breathed, as she continued her assault of his chest. "But my failed marriage isn't anything you need to worry about baby. It was over a long time ago."

"Tell me about your children," Bella requested, allowing him to pull them back down to a lying position on the bed.

"I'm not sure what there is to tell," his lips formed a soft smile; he was obviously crazy about the two of them, "Leah is eight, she's extremely girly and into anything that is pink. She loves Hannah Montana and hates the fact that when she comes to my house I don't have the Disney Channel on cable. I've had to go out and buy about a billion DVDs to feed her addiction."

"Sounds like she's got you wrapped around her little finger," Bella was pleasantly surprised by his reaction to talking about his kids. There was something endearing about a proud father. Not that she had ever had one. "What about your son?"

"Seth is a little human dynamo. If you take your eyes of him for a second, he is off running somewhere. The last time I took him to Target he managed to knock down three separate displays," he grinned at the memory, "I haven't dared set foot in the place since."

"They sound like nice kids," she wasn't so sure about that; they sounded pretty damned scary to her. She wasn't used to being around anybody who was under eighteen. Perhaps the fact that he was related to them would make them more palatable.

"They are. They're the best thing I ever did," he paused, "apart from letting you have your wicked way with me of course."

Bella gaped at him open mouthed. "I don't remember being the one instigating anything!" she replied. "As I remember you were the one who dragged me into that taxi, then out of it into your house."

"I could tell you needed a good seeing to," they both laughed at his expression. "And talking of that, I was wondering if you, er, managed to take care of things."

Bella smirked, "are you asking me about contraception? Isn't it a bit late for that Mr Cullen?"

He paled visibly, and she decided to put him out of his misery. "It's okay. I'm on the pill. And I'm clean. You may be stupid enough not to use protection, but I'm not." _And you should know better_, she thought, _having already made two babies_.

"Point taken, Miss Swan." He put his hands up in defense. "I will never enter the club without a jacket again."

She laughed again. "You seem much more light hearted than usual." She looked closely at his face. "I wonder why that is?"

"I feel calm when you're with me, when we are talking. Well, apart from when we discuss work or ex-boyfriends that is."

"I like talking with you too," she put out her hand out and touched the side of his face, feeling the bristles rub against her hand as she moved it from his cheek to his chin, "amongst other things."

"What other things?" he growled, pulling her back towards him, cupping her ass with his right hand as he pulled their bodies together.

"I think you know," she stared at him through narrowed eyes, "and what you are thinking about right now is inappropriate."

"Inappropriate?" he echoed, "me? I'll have you know that I am the epitome of propriety."

"Yeah, you're a real Mr Darcy," Bella drawled, moving her hand around to the back of his head and pulling his face to hers. Softly placing her lips on his, she moved closer into him, deepening the kiss as he began to moan. His tongue darted out to meet hers, before plundering into her mouth as their lips ground together. Her hands tugged at his hair, pulling him closer into her as he caressed her ass.

"I obviously missed the chapter in _Pride & Prejudice_ where Darcy kissed Elizabeth like that," Bella whispered as they broke apart to get their breath back.

Edward grinned and pulled her back towards him again for another kiss.


	17. Chapter 17

**A/N Thank you to BelleDean for being such a fabulous Beta, and to SunflowerFran3759 for pre-reading. I've had a lot of new readers & reviewers this week thanks to CaraNo and KittyVuitton, who both recommended me - thank you so much. Finally to all of you that have read, reviewed, followed or recommended, you are all wonderful. I have loved reading the reviews and your takes on E, B and the plot, keep them coming! x  
**

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**CHAPTER 17- Violent Agreement  
**

At midnight she looked at her watch and sighed. She had to get up at 6:00 A.M. for the next pre-meeting at Detroit Motors Headquarters. At that exact moment, nothing seemed less appealing than yet another strategy meeting where they would plot the union's downfall.

No doubt they would try to plot Edward's downfall too. The only falling down that she really wanted him to do was onto her body, preferably landing somewhere soft and sweet.

"I have to go," she said quietly, pulling away from him.

"Stay the night, please." He moved across the bed and grabbed hold of her wrist. "I promise I'll be on my best behavior. I'll even turn on the alarm on my mobile phone."

Bella thought for a moment. Whether she left now or at 5:00 A.M. she ran the same risk of being spotted leaving his hotel room. At least if she was seen in the morning, she would have had the pleasure of sleeping for a few hours next to him.

"Okay, but I have to warn you. I'm notoriously bad at getting up in the morning."

"I'm not." He raised his eyebrows, managing to make even that facial expression seem indecent. He had the unerring ability to turn even the most benign of comments into an innuendo.

"I wonder if you will have turned into a pumpkin when I wake up in the morning. Or a toad," she pondered, wishing she could stay awake with him for the whole night. But it was going to be tough enough getting through a day of negotiations tomorrow on the small amount of potential sleep that she had left.

"I think you may be mixing your metaphors," he teased, kissing her forehead as he pulled her body tightly into his. "But if you mean that you're scared that things will be different in the morning then I guess that's understandable. Like I told you last night, we're going to get through this one day at a time."

Bella sighed, liking the sensation of his arms around her body. She was going to let herself relax tonight and enjoy herself in his company. She would worry about her professional life at approximately 6:00 A.M. tomorrow morning.

As all good things do, the five hours that were left of the night flew by, and before she knew it Bella was being awoken by kisses across her face and neck. Last night they had changed into more sleep–appropriate clothing; Edward into a pair of pajama pants, and Bella into a t-shirt that she had borrowed from him. Although said t-shirt covered her to mid-thigh, she had still tried to maintain a hint of propriety by keeping her panties on.

Shockingly Edward was true to his word and didn't try to take things further; he seemed to be content with simply making out. Perhaps, like Bella, he knew that to allow things to progress was not only dangerous, but would make it even harder to pretend that there was nothing going on between then at the meeting the next day.

As Edward turned off his alarm, she quickly pulled on her yoga pants, and grabbed her sweat top, pulling it over the top of the t-shirt that she was intending to steal from him. She looked up to see him staring at her.

"What?" She tried to look innocent. "I'm just borrowing it."

"Keep it." He waved his hand, dismissing her rather obvious performance. "It looks much better on you than it does on me anyway." He stood and pulled her towards him, brushing his lips across her neck, causing tiny shivers to run down her spine and her nipples to harden involuntarily. "I hope it doesn't sound too strange if I tell you I had a great time last night."

"Me too."

"And now we go back to being Union Edward and Management Bella," he murmured into her skin as he continued his onslaught of kisses to her neck.

"Sounds like some kind of kinky role play," Bella joked.

"We'll save that one for another time Baby, although don't think that the thought of you in your cute black suit threatening to discipline me doesn't turn me on."

She swallowed hard; the thought of it was turning her on too. "I'd better go," she stammered, hoping that he wouldn't notice the blush that had inflamed her cheeks.

"Okay. I'll call you later, after the meeting. I'm not sure if we'll conclude today or if we'll be staying another night."

Was it wrong that she was hoping for another night in the hotel? Only yesterday she had wanted the negotiations to conclude quickly, not least because Edward had promised her _more_ once things were over. But now, even without any conclusion, she wanted a repeat of last night, of being held in his arms, despite her confusing feelings and the consequences that were sure to follow. And if that _more_ happened to include a little horizontal tango, then she would be happy to be his dance partner.

"I'll see you across from me at the conference table," she turned to leave, "but if you try anything like asking for me to be removed from Fairhaven, I won't be responsible for my actions. I've not had much sleep, and I'll be much crankier today. You got off way too easily yesterday."

"The only removal I want is from your body after I've made you come repeatedly," he growled, somehow managing to turn the conversation dirty again. "And the quicker we conclude these negotiations, the quicker I can get you into my bed."

Bella's eyes widened; she wasn't used to dirty talk this early in the morning – and sober. She couldn't think of anything funny to reply with, so she just glared at him and then turned to pull his hotel room door slightly open, looking both ways to see if anybody was loitering around. Seeing the corridor was empty, she darted out.

"I'll see you later Baby," he whispered as he closed the door behind her.

"Not if I see you first," she replied, heading for the elevators.

It was even harder to eat breakfast this morning than it had been the previous day. Her stomach felt like she had just got off a roller coaster, sickened by a mixture of exhilaration and the knowledge that in less than a couple of hours she would have to sit facing a man whom she wanted to have carnal knowledge of. Bella had never been a good actress – Renee had always told her that her face was like an open book. Now she was going to have to give the performance of her life if she wanted to stand a chance of keeping her career.

Somehow this was different to her affair with James. Whilst somewhat illicit in nature, she had not crossed any ethical boundaries, after all office romances were common at most Consultancies. But this time, apart the fact that she knew it was totally wrong, she wanted to be the one sitting next to Edward at the table, not opposite him. She wanted to be able to curl into a ball next to him and feel him hold her tight. Instead she was going to have to stare at him coldly, like they felt animosity towards each other. God only knows how she was going to achieve that.

"Bella you look like shit," Aro drawled, calling a spade a goddamned shovel as usual. "Did you get any sleep at all last night?"

And so it began; her first day of lies and omissions. "Not really. I was too busy thinking about what was going to happen today." _And kissing Edward Cullen._

"Jared tells me that things will come to a conclusion today. I'm hoping to be on the road by this afternoon. It seems like a long time since I was at Fairhaven, and I don't like being away from the action." He poured Bella a coffee. "Here, get this down you, it might wake you up."

An hour later they were seated in the first floor conference room again, waiting for the union to arrive. It was the same setup as yesterday, but today she felt completely different. Yesterday she was still unsure about exactly where this thing between her and Edward was going. Today she knew without a doubt that whatever was going on between them was serious — so important that she was willing to risk her professional reputation to pursue it.

When the door opened, Bella looked up. She was surprised that the first person to walk through the door was Edward. She had been expecting to see Garrett first, since he was — at least nominally — the chief negotiator on the union side. She had been caught unaware, and it took her a couple of seconds to remember that Edward would neither be smiling at her, nor would he be saying '_hey Baby'_ when he caught her eye.

It felt unnatural to glare at him, but she did it anyway. Pretending that he was James, she managed to arrange the right expression on her face. Once she had that vision in her head she found it was actually quite easy to stare at Edward with just a dash of contempt in her eyes.

Edward glared back at her for a moment, and then moved his gaze to look over the rest of the management, inclining his head to them. As Garrett, Emmett and the rest of the team filed in behind, they took their seats opposite Jared, Aro and the management team.

"Gentlemen," just like yesterday, Jared opened the meeting, "we are reconvening the meeting that started yesterday, in which we are discussing the options regarding the future survival of the Fairhaven plant." He gave a very small smile. "I trust that you all had a refreshing night and are ready to start negotiating today."

"My night was very pleasant, thank you," Edward replied. Bella could feel a blush creeping up her cheeks and refused to look at him in case he was smirking. She was certain that somebody was going to notice the tension radiating off of her. This situation was so fucked up.

"We have taken the opportunity to go over your proposals in detail and have a response prepared for each one of them." Edward opened up his laptop and quickly connected it to the lead which projected it on the screen. " As you can imagine, some of your proposals are hard limits for us, but we believe that we are being flexible enough to come to a suitable interim agreement."

The PowerPoint slides came to life on the screen which was suspended at one end of the conference room. All those seated around the large table turned their heads towards it.

As Edward went through the presentation, Bella was entranced by his smooth, self-assured delivery. She was surprised and more than a little aroused by how competent he was. Gone was the playful, sweet side that he had showed her last night; today he was all business and damn it was hot. He offered concessions on many of the points — maybe not enough to get Fairhaven in the black again, but certainly enough to staunch the flow of dollars that were pouring out of the factory. He reiterated his point that this was an interim agreement, being made to ensure continued production until the new union leader had been elected and full negotiations could begin.

He also explained that if these terms were agreed today, he saw no reason why production could not recommence the next morning at Fairhaven. The union made no concessions to the major efficiencies that Bella had proposed — namely the reduction of sick pay, and increased working speeds. These were the limits he had referred to — the workers would not only reject these efficiencies in a vote, but would then proceed to lynch Edward for even considering them.

He finished by stating that, in their view, the deal was contingent upon both sides agreeing that there would be no reduction in pay or working hours — this was non-negotiable in the union's view.

The meeting adjourned, and Edward's team left whilst those remaining conferred to decide if the offer was good enough.

"Sounds like a fair deal to me," Jared addressed the management team once the other side were out of earshot. "They conceded more than I thought that they would, although I know it isn't enough in the long term to make the factory sustainable."

Jasper was frantically doing a number of complicated sums on his calculator and spreadsheets. He looked up as soon as Jared finished speaking and replied, "no, but getting production going again has to be our short term aim. We can start to renegotiate the other terms once we are actually making cars rather than twiddling our thumbs."

"I agree," Aro barked, pacing the floor and looking, to all intents and purposes, like a man who just wanted to get out of head office and back to the factory. He was a car maker, not a talker. "Let's draw up a memorandum of understanding and get back to work."

"How long will it be until the Union votes for a new leader?" Bella asked, hoping that nobody would suspect that she had an ulterior motive to her enquiry.

"Two weeks," Aro replied. "That will be your first job when you get back; organizing the facilities so that a fair vote can take place." He paused to scratch his chin, which seemed to be suffering from razor burn. "Well, probably your second job after we ensure that production restarts without any hitches."

"And don't forget that the workers will still be playing up, trying to get you riled," Jared added. "They won't be happy that any concessions have been given, and the fact that we still want to pursue pay cuts and increased line speeds will give them a reason to act out."

Bella sighed, knowing that as temporary HR Director, dealing with all this shit would become her job. It looked like she was probably going to be seeing rather a lot of Edward Cullen, but unfortunately in the wrong place at the wrong times.

"Sounds peachy," she muttered sarcastically, wondering exactly how she was going to manage over the next few weeks. Would it be possible for her to combine her new job and her fledgling relationship without something having to give? Rather sadly, she suspected not.

The agreement was signed by Garrett Forest and Jared Cameron just before lunch time on the second day of negotiations. Everyone from both sides seemed relieved, but probably none more so than Bella, who no longer had to try to act in front of fifteen unaware people. Or rather she didn't have to act for the rest of the day — since she had at least six weeks of having to do so at the factory before she was reassigned.

Returning to the hotel, her feelings were bittersweet. So much had happened in the past few days; the end of one relationship quickly followed by the unexpected beginnings of a new one. In this time away from Fairhaven she had seen a whole new side to Edward; a caring one which somehow complimented his harder, edgier personality. She liked both aspects of him for different reasons — one made her feel hot inside whilst the other made her feel protected.

After checking out she placed her wheeled suitcase into the back of her BMW and started the up car. Her IPod was on shuffle and the first song to come on was 'Boys of Summer'. Bella loved this song; it reminded her of summer holidays and mucking about with Mike Newton; and now somehow it was reminiscent of her of her fledgling relationship with Edward too.

Just as the chorus was belting out, her mobile rang over the Bluetooth. The caller ID on her dashboard told her that it was Angela, the office manager at Grayson Brown.

"Ang!" she answered, somehow absurdly pleased to hear from somebody in the office. It seemed like a long time had passed since she had spoken with anybody at Grayson Brown apart from James.

"Miss Bella Swan," Angela drawled, "long time no speak. How the hell are you?"

"Surviving," Bella said dryly. In her mind's eye Bella could see Angela sitting on the expensive office chair that she had stolen from an outgoing consultant, feet up on her cluttered desk, which was usually littered with four or five cups of half finished coffee. "What have I been missing?"

"James has been an asshole as usual." Angela had never asked Bella about her relationship with her boss, but Bella knew that very little in the way of gossip passed her by and assumed that she was aware of their affair "and has told me to put a hold on your next assignment. I haven't got anybody else to give it to at the moment, are you sure you can't come back earlier?"

There was nothing that Bella wanted more right now than to be sitting at her nice modern desk in the office, being brought a latte from the Starbucks in the foyer and shooting the breeze with the other consultants. Instead she was driving back to a dirty manufacturing facility that had seen better days — ones which were almost certainly over by the end of the 1970s.

"I've been told I have another six weeks. What's the new assignment?" If it was peachy, then she was determined to call James up and beg, regardless of how they had left things two days ago. She wasn't above a bit of grovelling if the job was worth it.

"It's a good one. Some podunk publishers based in Berkley, apparently still using quills and ink. They want someone to come in and re-engineer their systems, get them all up to date with the latest computers. It's California baby."

Bella grinned at Angela's last remark. The consultants always argued over who got the best assignments; location was one of their biggest reasons for fighting. Any jobs that were in places that were warm, dry or exciting were battled over – this one also appeared to be an easy one; no conflict or downsizing, just showing them how to use Microsoft Word. It was any consultant's dream gig.

"When's it meant to start?"

"They want somebody in next week. I've got nobody free, I thought you'd be done in darkest Detroit by now."

"What's everybody doing? Wouldn't Sam's guys usually take care of that?"

Sam Uley was the head of technology consulting, normally anything to do with systems improvement would automatically land at his door. Bella usually worked in the operations consulting team, although on occasion had been loaned to Sam where a job required it.

"Sam's gone over to the dark side and taken his team with him. They've all been put on three month's paid leave, it's like the goddamned Mary Celeste in here."

"The dark side?" Bella clarified.

"Accenture. Apparently he's been in talks with them for months. James is as pissed as hell that nobody has tried to headhunt him,"

"I bet he was." Management consultancies routinely poached each other's staff; it was a rare month when somebody didn't leave Grayson Brown for greener pastures. On the other hand, Grayson's also recruited regularly from other consulting firms — it was definitely a case of give and take. In the office it was a constant source of gossip and speculation.

"So no chance of you finishing up early then?"

Bella laughed. "I'm pretty sure James has already told you the answer to that. Unfortunately I've got another six weeks here."

"Oh God, is it full of men with beards and lumberjack shirts?"

"It's not Forks, Washington you goof. I'm working at a car factory, not a logging operation," she snorted at Angela's misconception, glad that she hadn't met Edward. If she had, she probably wouldn't be imagining checked shirts and facial hair any more.

"Hey, it's all backwoods country to me. I'm sitting in a nice steel tower with huge windows overlooking the busy streets. I'm even drinking a venti double mocha latte. I bet you really miss it."

God, she really did pine for the city. How did Angela know just what to say to make Bella feel homesick?

"Well, unless you have any more luck with James than I have, I'll be stuck here until December." She frowned. Six weeks seemed a long time and yet such a short time to sort out what the hell she wanted to happen with Edward. Was she just going to turn her back on him and leave this all behind in December?

"Sweetie, you know I don't have more luck with James than you have. And I'd like to keep it that way, thank you very much." As Angela spoke, Bella could hear voices murmuring in the background. "Everybody has just come out of some meeting. I've got to go."

"Okay, I'll talk to you soon, say 'hi' to everyone for me." She ended the call, and brought her attention back to the road ahead. There was very little traffic for a Thursday, allowing her time to think about what was happening. She hated knowing that everything that was going on back at the office without her, she felt like she was being left behind. She had really liked Sam Uley too; in the couple of times that she had worked for him he had impressed her with his knowledge of systems re-engineering, and had always had a quiet calm way about him which had reassured the client. He was the antithesis to James, who was brash, loud and uber-confident with clients.

On most assignments she was only out of the office for two or three weeks at a time; but on this one she had already been gone for ages. By the time she was back in Seattle she would have been out for almost three months. That was a long time in management consulting. There was a lot to catch up on in that time.

As she was wondering about her next assignment, and whether she should call James to press for more details, her phone rang again. This time the caller display indicated that it was Edward, and she wasted no time in accepting the call.

"Hey." She was aiming for light and airy, just two co-workers shooting the breeze. Rather like her phone call with Angela.

"Hey yourself, did you have a good meeting?"

"Meh, it was okay." She caught herself shrugging, even though he couldn't see her. "Some schmuck on the other side talked way too much though."

"There's always a scene stealer. I bet he was hot though."

"Oh yeah, he was toasty," she mocked. "Gave way too many concessions, but at least he looked good."

"Maybe he was hypnotized by your beauty. You could probably have persuaded him to concede even more if you'd put your mind to it."

"Let's hope the union members don't hear about our secret weapon then." She rolled her eyes at his words.

"You on your way home, Baby?" His words made her lips curl. Usually she hated epithets and nicknames, but from him it just sounded sexy.

"Yeah, I'm on the I94, should only take a couple of hours." And you are _very_ welcome to meet me at my place, she added silently.

"We're staying for one more night. Emmett apparently thinks we should go bar crawling to celebrate tonight."

"Sounds great, wish I was there." She hoped she didn't sound as disappointed as she felt. "When are you getting back?"

"Tomorrow, but I've got to pick up my kids. I have them until Sunday evening." She was a bit frustrated that she wouldn't see him that weekend, but she couldn't blame him for putting his children first.

"Try not to break too many things in Target," she said, remembering his description of his son.

"Yeah, I'll do my best to keep them under control. I guess I'll see you at work on Monday."

"I guess you will," she agreed, "but I have to warn you that I'm kind of looking forward to asserting my authority over you."

"I hope that's not all you'll be asserting," he retorted, "especially if you wear that suit again."

"You like that suit?" She was already planning to wear it on Monday, but now she was also imagining what she would wear _under_ the suit. Or not.

"I like you in that suit," he clarified. "Or should I say I would like to see you out of that suit."

"You've seen me out of that suit," she remarked, "as I recall I was wearing your t-shirt last night and not very much else."

"You looked fucking hot in my t-shirt, but I'd quite like to see you out of that too."

"Okay. So you'd like to see me out of my suit and out of my t-shirt. Is there anything you'd like to see me _in_?" The traffic up ahead was slowing. She put her foot on the brake and cursed softly as she realized that she was joining what looked like a huge tailback.

"My bed. Naked. With your legs apart."

Whoa, that was slightly more detail than she had been expecting. His dirty talk turned her on, but there was little she could do about it sitting in a traffic jam somewhere on the I94.

"You can keep your foul mouth to yourself, Mr Cullen," she retorted. "You know I'm much too delicate for that sort of talk."

"Delicate my ass. You didn't look that delicate last night when I had you in my bed. Or the time before that."

Bella blushed, when he put it that way, she really was the opposite of delicate. She wondered what that was, apart from being a synonym for harlot.

"I'd better go. Emmett and the others will be here in a minute, and I don't want to have to explain why I'm sitting here drooling with a hard on the size of the empire state building."

"Oh my God, you have no shame do you?" Bella's mouth dropped open in shock. "Or modesty come to that?"

"Not when it comes to you sweetheart. I'll see you on Monday."

As Bella ended the call she thought that his words sounded like both a threat and a promise.


	18. Chapter 18

**Many thanks to BelleDean for being a fabulous Beta - I promise I'll get the hang of dialogue tags before this story is through! I'm also very grateful to ****SunflowerFran3759** for pre-reading and making some great suggestions. 

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**CHAPTER 18**

Saturday morning found Bella catching up on the tasks she had managed to avoid during the week: laundry, cleaning and grocery shopping. By lunchtime she was bored and slowly coming to the realization that she had failed to make a single friend during her time in Michigan. Unless you counted a union leader who seemed to want to jump her bones, and a manager who appeared to be plotting her downfall.

She missed Alice, and giggling, or bitching, and sitting in a coffee shop for hours before common decency dictated that she should at least buy a second latte. In all she was feeling sorry for herself and decided that the only thing that could bring her out of it would be a large undiluted dose of Alice Brandon.

Alice picked up the phone on the first ring. They managed to spend two hours on the phone shooting the breeze; making Bella feel light hearted and girly again. Alice had alternated between telling Bella to give Edward the elbow, then suggesting she sleep with him the next time she saw him. Luckily Bella found her advice endearing rather than annoying, but decided to take it all with a grain of salt anyway.

Following their telephone marathon, she logged on to Facebook. She rarely posted a status, preferring instead to read her friends' timelines and to occasionally cyber stalk — predictably finding herself typing 'Edward Cullen' into the search box. Unfortunately he had protected his page, so she had to curtail her stalking tendencies. She didn't have the guts to send him a friend request; have dirty kinky sex with him or discuss the end of her career — yes — but send him a little request to be her friend? No way, that was way too forward.

To top it all off, she managed to leave Facebook open in a second tab for so long that even Renee — who never updated her profile — saw that Bella was online and proceeded to use the IM function to berate her daughter for her lack of contact.

That evening, she lay curled up under a blanket with a large glass of crisp white wine in her grasp, trying hard not to think about what the week ahead had in stall for her. She was helped massively in this endeavor when her phone trilled, indicating she had a text message:

_**E**_—_** Apparently Walmart's grocery displays are also easily knocked over.**_

She tried not to laugh; clearly Edward had made the big mistake of taking his kids shopping again.

_**B — Have you considered online shopping? Much safer and child friendly. **_

Almost immediately she got a reply;

_**E — There's only one good use for cyberspace, Baby, and it's not child friendly ;p**_

Yep, she really had nowhere to go from there. Apart from to bed. Alone. Which was exactly what she decided to do.

When the alarm clock roused her at 5:00 AM on Monday morning, she wasn't really feeling like she'd had a restful weekend. Walking through the entrance to the main office block, it seemed to Bella that very little had changed in the days she had been in Ann Arbor. The distant banging and pungent smell of oil emanating from the main factory indicated that the maintenance men were already on the shop floor, tuning up the machinery and making sure it was ready to run after an unexpected break. The cleaners had obviously been in to the building, the floors and surfaces looked much cleaner than they had when she had left last Tuesday. But apart from that the building still felt eerily quiet, like a ghost town.

In her office there was a large pile of mail to go through. She plugged in her laptop and let it go through it usual booting up process, using the five minutes that this usually took to get herself a cup of coffee from the vending machine. Bitter ersatz coffee was the only sort that you could get in Fairhaven; the machine gave you a choice between coffee, coffee with creamer, and coffee with creamer and sugar. Having made the mistake of trying the coffee with creamer once, she now stuck to the safe option of black and tried desperately not to think about the Starbucks in the foyer of the office building in Seattle that housed Grayson Brown.

She walked down the corridor; her footfalls loudly banging along the grey linoleum floor. Like the factory, the office block had seen better days; the creamy yellow paint on the walls was peeling in places, and in others lined with cork notice boards with out of date memos tacked to them. Just by the corner that led to the vending machine there were framed quality awards and certificates awarded to the factory; some yellowing and dating back to the eighties.

Disgusting coffee dispensed, she walked back to her office. She noted that her laptop had finally loaded, and opened Outlook to see a backlog of eighty emails. The factory being closed was certainly a bonus; on other assignments after an absence of a few days she had had somewhere in the region of three hundred unread dispatches. Even better, forty of them were either junk or out of date, so she really only had a small number that she either needed to reply to, or mark up for later reading.

By 6:00 AM she was out on the factory floor, walking towards the desk from where Tyler Crowley liked to direct operations. The surfaces were covered in a light layer of dust created by the maintenance men who now were testing the machines to ensure that the line was ready to run as soon as the first shift arrived. The factory smelled of oil and metal, and the dust floating in the air tickled her nose as she breathed. It lingered in the atmosphere; creating little dust motes in the glare of the strip-lights that lined the high ceiling.

Tyler was there, radio in hand, already barking out orders to the maintenance crew. When he saw Bella, he nodded slightly, and then used his right hand to indicate that she should join him, all the while continuing to shout through the mouthpiece.

She waited patiently while he finished his angry monologue. In her mind's eye she could see the maintenance team's quaking response to his loud angry voice. She could only empathize with them and suspect that by the end of the day, she too would be the recipient of his sharp tongue.

"Bella." This was a good start; Tyler was calm and collected when he addressed her. "Today is going to be a trying day. By trying I mean shitty, and by day, I mean week."

"What do you need me to do?" She was all business now, understanding that she was just a cog in the machinery that was Fairhaven. She just needed to do her bit to oil the wheels and then hopefully run and duck for cover when the shit hit the fan.

"We need to start the lines running by 7:35 AM at the latest or we're losing money. We'll be lucky if three quarters of the guys turn up, the rest will be enjoying their unexpected vacation way too much to receive the message that the strike is over. I need to make sure every workstation is manned, and that every line is running, otherwise we'll be even more up the shit than we already are." He stopped to take a breath. "I need you and your team to chase down every absent worker. I don't care if they're suffering from pleurisy or if their Auntie Matilda has died from botulism, they need to be at work. Do whatever it takes to get them here."

Great, he wasn't expecting her just to help him man the lines, he was expecting her to work goddamn miracles. There was no way that if the staff hadn't turned up by 7:30 AM she would be able to hunt them down by 7:35 AM. It was an impossible task and he knew it.

And her team. God, she hardly knew any of them. She now had a group of six people working for her and she had no experience in the management department. Suddenly, not only was she learning a new job, but she was also having to manage a group of workers who knew a lot more than she did about the HR function. This was either a baptism by fire or a complete cock up; either way she felt like she was set up to fail.

Regardless of her inner fears, she briefed her team and had them up and running by 7:15 AM. They watched the workers arrive, a trickle at first, then a huge tidal wave as the clock moved close to the start up time. Most of them queued around the clocking in machines until the buzzer signaled the start of the working day. As Tyler had predicted, each line was too short of manpower to start up by 7:30 AM, which then led to a scramble for every able body within the vicinity of the factory floor. Within ten minutes the lines were running, but Bella knew that they were late; and ten minutes of lost production time would have Aro baying for her and Tyler's blood at the end of day production meeting.

After four hours of constant action, she managed to escape to her office for a five-minute break; her body was crying out for a caffeine injection, and she was itching to check her emails to see if there was any update from Angela back in Seattle. Just as she was unlocking her computer, her mobile phone rang.

"Hi Emily," she answered, seeing the caller ID of her HR Advisor on the display.

"Bella, we have a problem on the final underbody line. You'd better get down here." Emily's voice sounded shaky, her breathing staggered.

"Are you okay?" Bella felt sorry for the girl, she was a recent college graduate in her first HR job and had really been thrown in at the deep end. She was only a few years younger than Bella, but had spent the last few months undergoing a baptism of fire at Fairhaven.

"Not really, no. I could really do with your help down here." Emily's tone was guarded. Bella assumed that other people were listening to her side of the conversation.

"Okay, I'm on my way; I should be there in a couple of minutes." Bella walked as fast as she could to the stairwell that led to the factory floor. What on earth had possessed her to wear a shoe with a two-inch heel that day?

When she arrived at the final underbody line, she could see that production had halted, and there was a large group of men surrounding Emily Young, many shouting and gesticulating. Emily's face relaxed as soon as she spotted Bella walking towards the melee.

"What's up?" When Bella finally reached the group, she could see that Emily was standing with Tyler Crowley next to a tall skinny man with straggly brown hair and what looked like three day's worth of stubble. More worryingly his eyes seemed unable to keep still and focus on what was in front of him; for a moment Bella wondered if he was having some kind of fit.

"This is Waylon Forge." Emily indicated the tall thin man standing in front of her. "Tyler found him staggering around trying and failing to fit HVACs."

"He's drunk as a fucking proverbial skunk," Tyler spat, not bothering to hide his contempt for the man in front of him. "It's not the first time either. But it will be his last. He's a goddamned liability and I want him out of here."

"Just hold on one fucking minute," Emmett McCarty piped in, leaning toward Tyler angrily. "You've got no proof at all that he's drunk. He could be on some kind of medication."

"A medication that makes him reek of whiskey?" Tyler coughed out a laugh. "I don't think they stock that one at CVS."

"Are you accusing one of your workers of being intoxicated without any evidence whatsoever?" Emmett leaned even closer to Tyler, his stance was starting to look menacing, but Tyler seemed unperturbed.

"The evidence is right in front of me, you sanctimonious prick. Don't even try to deny it." Now Tyler was starting to get riled. Emmett clearly knew how to push his buttons. Bella looked at Emily, who shrugged back at her; it was clear that this impasse had been going on for a while. She took a deep breath and stepped forward.

"Emmett, even I can smell the whiskey on him. Please don't insult our intelligence here. We're going to have to remove him from the building, he's a danger to himself and others."

Emmett turned on Bella, his face a mask of anger. "He's not fucking going anywhere." He looked over at Waylon, who from the expression on his face, was oblivious to everything that was going on. He was swaying slightly, as if he was moving in tune to a silent melody.

"We need to remove him from the factory," Bella interjected, aware that whilst they stood there debating, the lines were not moving and production was being delayed yet again. Aro would be so pissed with both her and Tyler if they didn't get them started back up soon. She turned to Waylon and continued, "I need you to come with me to the Medical Office. We need to test your alcohol levels."

"No fucking way," Emmett shouted, moving in between Bella and Waylon. "He's not having anything tested, you don't have any reasonable suspicion." There were sounds of agreement from the workers standing around watching. Bella felt a flash of anger flare up from her belly.

"Emmett, the guy can hardly focus on anything. He smells of alcohol. He can barely stand up let alone fit an HVAC system. Either he gets tested or he is suspended on pay pending investigation." She thanked God that she had read the employee handbook in advance; at least she knew the company's procedures for investigating potential misconduct.

"You send him home and I take everybody out," Emmett threatened, moving up into Bella's personal space. She took a step backwards, only to crash into a wall of flesh behind her.

"What's going on?" Edward's smooth voice came from behind her right ear. It took all the self-control she had not to shiver at the sound of his words.

"They want to send Waylon home or to be tested. They've got no proof he is drunk." Emmett all but shouted at Edward.

"Oh please." Tyler rolled his eyes. "He's on a final warning for being shit faced during working hours. How many more fucking times do you want him to get away with it before he ends up killing somebody?"

"Look, we need to calm this down," Bella interjected. "Can we move the discussion away from here so that the lines can get moving?"

"Waylon's going back to work." Emmett's voice was calmer now, as if he was reassured by Edward's presence. "And once he's back at work, we can all get on with our jobs instead of standing around here like a bunch of pansies discussing the latest fashions."

"Waylon is not going back to work," she almost shouted. "He's in no condition to do anything. He needs to go home and sober up."

Edward turned to look at her. "If you send him home, he won't sober up. He'll just start drinking more. He's an alcoholic."

"This isn't the Betty Ford clinic," she replied, wanting to pull her hair in frustration. Or his. "We haven't got any choice. He's a danger to himself and others." Bella could see Edward's eyes starting to narrow at her words. "We need to investigate what has happened. You know as well as I do that he's got little chance of holding on to his job after this." Anger was boiling away inside her. She couldn't believe that the union would condone Waylon's actions; that they thought it was safe to have him anywhere near a production line. "Don't you have the welfare of the rest of your constituents to think about?"

"Emmett, take Waylon to medical," Edward ordered, shooting a glance at his friend before turning to the onlookers. "I suggest the rest of you get back to work and let us do our jobs. We're on Waylon's side here, but you aren't helping." The others gradually moved away and back to their posts. Within a minute the line had started back up again.

"Miss Swan, a word in private please." He took hold of Bella's wrist and gently pulled her around the corner with him. She leaned against the factory wall, wondering what on earth he had to say to her now. Her body was feeling the after-effects of an adrenalin rush, her heart beating hard and fast against her ribcage. "What do you want?" She finally managed to articulate some understandable words.

"Don't send him home. If you do, he'll drink himself to death." He leaned closer, eyes pleading. If it had been anybody but Edward, she would have pushed them the hell out of her personal space.

"I haven't got a choice," she hissed. "You know the company's drug and alcohol policy. We're supposed to have zero tolerance and yet have given him chance after chance. If he tests positive for alcohol, then he's going to be out of a job."

Edward leaned closer still, his voice sounding menacing. "Your hands will have his blood on them. The only reason he's survived so far is because he has had a reason to get up every morning. Without this job, he'll start drinking in the morning until he's in a stupor by midday." Finally he moved away from her, putting both hands in his hair in despair. "Just don't do this," he whispered.

"I haven't got a fucking choice," she spat out through gritted teeth. "He's tried to work on a production line while absolutely wasted in front of about three hundred witnesses. If we don't do something then not only will we look ineffectual, but we've actually condoned a health and safety infraction."

"Fucking hell!" He leaned back towards her, his eyes flashing with fury, "you'd put a man's life in danger just to avoid looking ineffectual?"

"That's not what I meant," she hissed, "and he's the one putting everybody's life in danger by trying to work while he's drunk. Your priorities are all wrong."

"Don't tell me what my priorities should be." He was so close to her now that she could feel his warm breath on her face. "This is a man's life we're talking about."

Bella stared back at Edward, unable to say anything. His close proximity was unnerving, sparking feelings in her that she really didn't want to acknowledge while she was at work. He looked back at her, his face frozen, his lips a cold thin line. As she shrank back against the wall, he leaned in towards her, putting one arm on each side of her until he had caged her in.

He glared at her, unmoving, saying nothing. She could feel the tension radiating off of him; his body was taut and his stance intimidating. His breathing was faster now and she could still feel the warm air on her skin as he exhaled. Her legs were starting to shake; she tried to stop them, to keep them straight; her stomach was feeling nauseous. Moments passed until he pushed himself away from the wall.

"Fuck this," he said, moving away from her, raising both arms up in capitulation before running them through his hair. "This is bullshit." He turned his back on her and walked away. Bella stood where she was for a minute, trying to regroup and get her breath back before she decided on her next move. She watched him as he disappeared into the middle of the factory. She was feeling incensed by the events of the day so far; she was so woefully under-prepared for this role that it wasn't even funny.

"Bella." She looked up to see Emmett approaching her. "I just wanted to apologize for shouting at you. It wasn't your fault and I shouldn't have taken it out on you."

She smiled wanly. At least one union representative wasn't being a total dick to her today. "It's okay Emmett. I think everybody's feelings were running high over there. Did you take Waylon to the medical office?"

"Yep. They're testing him then sending him home." He looked sad, almost defeated. She regarded him curiously.

"Why do you and Edward defend him so much? Surely even you know that what he did was wrong?"

Emmett stared at her for a moment, as if he was trying to find the right words. "If you had kids, how many times would you tell them off before you gave up on them all together?"

Bella was confused. "I'd never give up on my non-existent kids. Only a douche-bag parent would do that."

"Exactly." Emmett nodded furiously. "And Edward and I feel exactly the same way about all the workers here. They screw up, hell _we _screw up, but we don't give up on each other. Waylon has nobody else, no family, no friends. Everybody deserted him when he became an alcoholic. If we don't look out for him, nobody will."

"Well, it's not all over yet." For some reason she felt the need to reassure him. "We'll investigate and probably put him on decision leave. We may be able to put him into some sort of residential program if medical think it's appropriate."

Emmett shrugged. "It's been done before. He only lasts a few days before he's back off the wagon. I just don't like to give up on the guy. He hasn't got anybody else to support him."

Bella felt like shit. Here she was trying to defend a faceless company, when Emmett and Edward were trying to protect the underdogs. Now more than ever she longed for her lovely Seattle desk and to actually achieve something, rather than coming up against what seemed like insurmountable problems.

Emmett loped away slowly, no doubt readying himself for the next incident. They were all fighting fires today.

Bella decided that she should go and apprise Aro of the situation. It was better to pre-empt his questions, than have to face them in the production meeting later in front of all the other staff. So she walked back up the stairs to the office block, once again cursing herself for choosing form over function when choosing her footwear that morning.

When she reached Aro's office, it was strangely quiet. His secretary was almost certainly on her lunch break; her computer was locked and the phones switched through to reception. Aro's door was shut, although this didn't usually mean anything. He had always told Bella that regardless of his door, to feel free to come in and speak with him at any time.

As she got closer, she could hear murmured words of a one sided conversation. Aro was seemingly on the phone, a fact that surprised Bella since usually he shouted whenever he was having a telephone conversation. She had often wondered if he thought that phones still worked like the old tin can and string communicators – and the louder he shouted, the better his voice vibrated down the wire.

She stood at the door, unsure whether she should just go straight in or knock first. His voice was clearer now — she found herself frozen to the spot, listening to his words.

"Sweetheart, you won't be implicated in anything. I told you, that's why we got you out of this mess." Aro's voice was soothing, as if he was trying to placate the person at the other end of the line. Bella wondered who the hell _sweetheart_ was.

There was a slight pause, and then the conversation continued, "No, Tan baby, I promise you it won't be that much longer. Once this place is closed then I'll be moving down to the Louisville plant with you." _Tan_? As in _Tanya_?

Another pause, and then, "I miss you too. This desk is way too big without your gorgeous ass naked on top of it." The mental image that his words conjured up made Bella want to wash her brain out with bleach. She grimaced, trying to get things straight in her head without thinking too much about his words.

"Tanya. You know as well as I do that we've got things covered here. Nobody is going to blame you for the clusterfuck. She'll be the one to take the fall when it all goes to hell."

"Bella?" A voice from behind made her whip her head around.

"Shit," she mumbled, seeing that Aro's secretary had come back from lunch. Bella was standing outside his office with her ear practically glued to his door. Could she look any more like an eavesdropper?

"Oh hey, I was just going in to see Aro, but I think he's on the phone." She tried to cover her tracks as gracefully as possible, but from the looks of her face, Aro's secretary was having none of it.

"Would you like me to call him over the intercom?" she asked, moving towards the phone on her desk.

"Oh no, that's okay," Bella was babbling now. "I'll come back later, I just need to go and pick something up from my office. She practically ran down the hallway; the last thing she wanted to do right now was face Aro Volturi. One look at her face and he would know that she'd over heard his conversation. She needed to process and regroup before she saw him in person — more than anything she needed to think about the implications of the conversation she had overheard.

About three things she was absolutely freaking positive: first, Aro was having some sort of torrid affair with Tanya Denali and had been for some time; second, Tanya had been sent away from Fairhaven to protect her professional reputation from whatever was going to go down. Third — and she wasn't sure exactly how they were going to achieve this — they had set Bella up to take the fall.


	19. Chapter 19

**A/N - Thanks to BelleDean for being a brilliant Beta, and to Sunflowerfran for pre-reading, you guys are the gin to my tonic. I have written an outtake of Chapter 3 in EPOV for Fandom Fights Hurricane Sandy - please donate to this fabulous cause and get a lovely collection of fanfic to read just before Christmas! Link is in my profile.  
**

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**CHAPTER 19 - Revelations  
**

Bella felt like she was in a dream. Walking the hundred yards back to her office seemed to take forever. Each step felt like an exaggerated motion, and her limbs were aching even though they'd had little exertion so far that day. Her mind was too busy to register the dull noises arising from the factory floor, or the soft hum of voices emanating from the offices. Her body felt like it was weighed down with lethargy, as if gravity was pulling her down too fast.

Walking through her office door, she closed it firmly and twisted the lock in the handle. She closed her eyes, leaning hard against the door as she tried to clear out the images in her brain. But on the screen behind her closed eyelids the scene of Aro, sitting on the edge of his des, mobile phone to his ear, grin on his face, played in a never ending loop. In her mind's eye he had taken on the appearance of Al Pacino in _The Devil's Advocate_, all wild eyes and slicked back hair and pure, scary, evil.

God, she could do this, she really could. She took a deep breath and summoned her courage. She knew she could do this. She had brains, she had experience, she was a strategic thinker. Jesus, what she really fucking needed was a cigarette.

Her hands, that she had fisted into tight balls, were starting to ache from the position. She loosened her fingers, wiggling them lightly to release the tension. Her breathing was shallow, but slowly she was taking back control of her body; her heartbeat decelerated to normal bpm, oxygen finally reaching the bottom of her lungs and her muscles relaxed.

Her chair was awaiting her, but was it a throne or an execution stool? The lovely, plush, leather chair that Aro had bought her, the chair that she had thought was a gift to her for her hard work. To sit in it now seemed like capitulation.

Still she sat and attempted not to enjoy the feeling of luxury too much. Booting up her laptop, she sighed at the long list of things she had to do in her Outlook task list. Her priority was to contact the local union secretary to ensure that the election of their leader was carried out in a timely fashion. Her second job, although not on her list, was to call James and beg him one last time to let her go home to Seattle and get the hell out of Dodge.

The first call was a damned sight easier than the second. Despite the fact that the union secretary had attitude, and Bella had to do some maneuvering to find out any details about the election, the phone call went as predicted and was over with fast.

Ending the call, she then made her way down the old iron staircase that led to the factory floor, heading for the side exit of the building where the majority of the smokers congregated at break time. It was a short walk across the gray concrete concourse to the smoking shelter, a blue metal shed-like construction with corrugated plastic for a roof, and scratched Perspex on the makeshift walls. Despite constant reminders that all cigarettes should be extinguished and thrown in the metal bin, the floor was covered in used butts – the vast majority had clearly been smoked right to the filter.

During a non- designated break time for the laborers, the shelter was deserted and Bella found herself alone with her packet of Marlboro Gold. Sucking in the first mouthful of nicotine, she wondered why she had ever considered trying to give up. Stress plus nicotine withdrawal made for a very angry consultant.

While taking another mouthful, she used her left hand to pull her cell phone out of her pocket and quickly checked her messages. Seeing little of interest, she hit the speed dial button two.

"James Hunter, Grayson Brown." He'd only let it ring once before picking it up. Bella smirked, wondering if he realized who was calling him.

"Hey." Her voice was all light and sweet; she grimaced at the way he reverted to past behavior as soon as she was on the other end of the line.

"Bella. How are you sweetheart?" He was alone in his office, then. Hearing her name in the same sentence as 'sweetheart' was a very rare occurrence in all the time she had known James.

"I'd be better if I was in Seattle." Not that she particularly wanted to be anywhere near _him_ of course.

"That sounds like a pretty big hint. Do you need a pep talk?" His voice was smooth, with a hint of amusement in his tone.

"No, I need a new assignment."

"Sweetheart, I know you're doing a great job. Aro tells me that you've managed to put the fear of God into everybody on the shop floor."

"I think they've all managed to put the fear of God into _me_." She took her last breath of smoke and threw the butt down, grinding it into the ground with her stupidly high black patent shoe. Then, taking a look around, she thought twice and picked the butt up again and put it in the metal can. "Please don't call me 'sweetheart'. I'm not sweet and I don't think you ever had my heart." Now she was being waspish, but she honestly couldn't help it.

"Bella."

"What?"

"Don't be a bitch." James paused, she could hear a few clicks; he sounded like he was checking something on his computer. "You've only got a few weeks to go. I know you miss me gorgeous, but you'll just have to endure."

She was grateful that he saw a funny side to her whining. She may not be his biggest fan any more, but she was aware that she needed his support in her career. And it wouldn't do for both of them to be at rock bottom right now. The knowledge that there was no possibility of reassignment was enough to drain the humor right out of the situation for her.

"I'm a sprinter, not a marathon runner," she muttered, feeling her teeth grind against each other as she gritted them. "I go in, sort shit out, and run the fuck away before the proverbial hits the fan. Right now I'm directly in the splash zone."

James laughed out loud at her words. "Splash zone, I love it. You're hilarious, Bella, but you're staying there for as long as it takes. Detroit Motors is an important client. There's no way we're leaving them high and dry."

"I know that, James. Don't question my professionalism. I'm just not sure what value I'm adding by being here." She tried to keep the frustration out of her voice, but could tell from the silence on the other end of the line that she was failing miserably.

The sky overhead had darkened during the ten minutes that she had been outside. Rain was gently drumming against the corrugated roof of the shelter like the soft footfalls of a hundred dancers. Yet another thing to round off the day from hell; now she'd have to make a run for it and her hair would turn into a frizz ball.

"I've got to go, Bella. I've got a meeting scheduled in five minutes. Hang in there. You'll be back here before you know it. I guarantee that." He hung up without waiting for her response. Bella sighed and put the cell phone back into her jacket pocket, readying herself for the ten yard dash back to the factory door.

* * *

The production meeting was delayed until 6:30 PM due to more problems on the shop floor. This time there was an excessive number of cars with defects being produced. Tyler wasn't sure if this was due to sabotage, or pure laziness on the part of the operators, but he was inclined to go with the latter. Bella hoped he was right, today she really didn't have the inner reserves to start tackling sabotage on top of everything else.

Aro was already sitting at the head of the table as she entered the conference room. His face sported a grim look — the result of a less than successful day of car production. When all were present, he went through the figures. They were over a hundred cars down on their scheduled production run, a catastrophic figure, since production had already been at a standstill for a week. Not only were they failing to catch up on orders, but they were actually adding to the backlog.

"Bella, can you give me a rundown on the incident with Waylon Forge today?" he glared at her, unsmiling. The memory of his illicit phone conversation with Tanya came flooding back to Bella. Knowing what she had heard, she could barely catch his eye as she replied.

"Sure. He was caught intoxicated on the line. After some discussion, he was removed to medical who tested him and sent him home. We've appointed a manager to carry out the investigation, and, in addition, medical is providing us with a full report and suggestions of what support we can give him."

"We're not giving him any fucking support, Bella," Aro thundered, slamming his flat palm down hard on the mahogany table. "He's out of here. Sacked. Kaput. I want him terminated from the company by tomorrow. I'm sick and tired of procedures and mitigation. We're sitting here fiddling while Rome fucking burns."

"With all due respect, Aro, that would go against our own policies. And the union would have a field day – they'd all walk out again, and I'm not sure our numbers can take that kind of disruption."

"I don't give a shit." Aro leaned towards her, and she felt herself move backwards until her body was squashed against the soft fabric of the chair. What was it with men in this place and their intimidating stances — had someone spiked the water with testosterone?

Aro continued, "You are the advisor. So I take you're advice on board. But I still want him out of here. I'm giving those bastards a clear message: screw with me and I'll fuck you right back."

Aro was right; she was there in an advisory capacity – the buck ultimately stopped with him and the board of directors, all the way up to the CEO. And by the time any repercussions really took place, she would be back in Seattle, working on another assignment. That thought calmed her somewhat; she really needed more perspective in this case — she was in danger of becoming way too involved.

"Okay. We'll call him in tomorrow," she agreed. "Do we need to make contingency plans in case of a walkout?"

For the first time since the meeting began, Jasper made himself heard. "If there's a walk out, we're in big trouble. I can't see any way out of the financial mess we're already in."

"Tyler?" Aro turned to his production manager.

"Jasper's right. If they walk out we're fucked. I want Waylon gone as much as you do, but I can't see how we'll carry on if they walk out."

"But walking out is illegal right?" Aro looked upon Bella again, his eyebrows rising up as he viewed her.

"It's illegal," she confirmed. "Doesn't mean they won't do it, though. They've got very little to lose right now."

"I disagree. They've got everything to lose. All we have to do is tell Cullen that if they walk out the factory will shut down."

Bella stared at Aro, trying to work out exactly what it was that he was trying to achieve here. Usually in this sort of situation she would calmly talk through the options, and try to guide him to her preferred one. This time though, there was the additional knowledge that he was trying to royally screw her over. That made her more cautious than she would normally be; more than ever she needed to think first and talk second.

The pause allowed Tyler to jump in, "So what's the plan?"

Aro rubbed his face with both hands. Even he seemed exhausted after a day like today, and Bella had always thought the man ran on adrenaline and coffee. "Call him in. I still want him gone. I'll deal with the fallout later." A pause, a sip of coffee, and he continued, "And get Cullen up to see me first thing tomorrow. I want to hash this out with him man to man."

By the time the meeting ended, it was dark outside and, as mandated by Aro, Bella walked with Tyler through the factory and towards the door that led to the parking lot. It was eerie to be on the shop floor when nobody else was around; the line was filled with half built cars at various stages of production. She walked past the basic metal frames hanging in cages from the ceiling. She likened them to cadavers being dragged on hooks through an abattoir. As she moved further down, the line of cars slowly began to resemble the finished product, as fittings were added to the metal shell. It was only once they had been through the blocked off paint shop that they really began to look recognizable — emerging from the paint shop exit, the dull grey metal shells suddenly transformed into a rainbow of different colors.

The production lines were surrounded by machinery; large yellow robotic arms that helped the workers to fit larger components, and a huge yellow pulley system which carried doors overhead from the paint shop to the door line. These all stood as still as statues, awaiting production to restart in the morning. Bella was amazed by the sheer amount of machinery and manpower that it took to make just one car roll off the final line – no wonder the grey painted floor had bright yellow parallel lines painted along it, indicating the areas where it was safe to walk. This place was a health and safety disaster just waiting to happen. But her love-hate relationship with the factory was veering towards the better emotion; she was starting to discover a respect for the energy of the factory floor. There was nothing like the sense of accomplishment that came from knowing that a tangible product was emerging from the metal jungle of the plant.

* * *

As she arrived at the tall, modern apartment block she was currently calling home, her mind was already making exciting plans for the evening. Her agenda included a bottle of white wine, copious amounts of chocolate and a deep dive into her sadly neglected TIVO watch list. She really knew how to party

Preoccupied with thoughts of a quiet evening spent in peaceful vegetation, she failed to notice Edward Cullen leaning against her apartment door until she was almost on top of him.

"Fuck!" Not for the first time today, she felt her heart beat ten to the dozen – could a body overdose on adrenalin?

"Sorry. I didn't mean to startle you." The edge of his lip curled into a smirk as Bella put her right hand on her chest and reminded herself to breathe.

"I wasn't looking." She wanted to ask him what he was doing here, but was worried it was going to come out the wrong way, or, more realistically, she'd say it in the way he totally deserved. She hesitated in front of her door, wondering what the hell her next step should be.

"Can I come in? I brought takeout." He held up the brown paper bag in his right hand like an offering. "Baked ziti and salad. I wasn't sure what you liked."

This was the same guy that had all but pinned her against a wall earlier. She should be pissed off with him; heck she _was_ absolutely pissed off with him. But her inner politeness, cultivated by six years of expensively genteel private education, won out. She turned the key in her lock, pushed the door open and used a flourish of her right hand to indicate he should enter. Following in behind him, she flicked the light switch up as she walked past.

"So. Yeah, this is my place."

"Kitchen?"

"Yes, I have one. I believe that most of the apartments here have all mod cons. Well, maybe apart from 2A, I'm pretty sure they still have a latrine." Okay, that was snarky. Maybe this wasn't such a good idea. Like a castle waiting to be attacked she had pulled up the drawbridge and released the crocodiles into the moat; she hoped she wouldn't have to boil up the oil as well.

"Where is your kitchen?" he enunciated slowly, as if speaking to somebody for whom English was a foreign language. Stupid smarmy takeout bringer.

"Through the lounge and to the right." She walked towards it, indicating with a curl of her index finger that he should follow. As he put the bag on the kitchen counter, she opened the fridge and extracted her last bottle of white wine. The contents of the Smeg were sparse; there was half a jug of milk, a half used, dried up lemon and the usual array of sauces. She really needed to find the time and inclination to make a trip to the grocery and liquor store.

"So, to what do I owe this pleasure?" She couldn't hold her question back any longer. She wasn't even sure if she wanted him here; a small but significant part of her psyche longed for the solitary sanctuary that her apartment usually afforded her.

He looked at her and shrugged. Giving her a half smile, he closed the two-foot gap between them and laid his forehead on hers. She closed her eyes, feeling the skin to skin contact.

"It's been a shitty day. I wanted to see you. I wanted to see you all weekend."

"You saw me today." She opened her eyes and looked straight at him, the extreme close up making her go cross-eyed. It was too much for her to have him this close, his proximity prevented her from having some much needed perspective.

"I know. And I get that you're angry. I don't know what I can do differently though." His expression was somber, almost pained. The way he regarded her made her stomach feel funny and nauseous. She wasn't sure she had ever felt so out of control in a relationship; she was determined to wrest some back.

"I don't know what you can do differently either but I wish you'd do it." Breaking away from him, she reached up to the cupboard next to the fridge and took down two wine glasses. They were standard issue, the sort you'd find in any furnished apartment. Like some kind of metaphor for her life, they were anonymous, safe and impersonal.

"You wanna talk about it?"

"I don't know." She took the takeout container out from the brown bag; it was stone cold. "How long have you been waiting here anyway?"

Edward shrugged, nose wrinkling as he gave a lopsided grimace. "I don't know. An hour maybe? I thought you'd be back earlier."

"We had a production meeting. You'll be pleased to hear that Aro wants to see you first thing tomorrow." She actually enjoyed seeing Edward's grimace at her words. Man she was really spreading the joy tonight.

"Shit. Look. I know I was a dick today." His hands were in his hair again, it seemed to be his standard move when he was agitated. In her line of business it helped when somebody had a tell; it was so much easier when she could anticipate their mood. "I was out of line. I was irritated and treated you like shit. If my Mom could have seen me she would have bitch slapped me."

"I wish she had. Somebody needs to teach you some manners." Her voice was terse. She was only just beginning to realize just how annoyed with him she was. She really had taken just about as much of his shit as she was willing to endure. "You blow hot and cold. I never know what to expect from you. You were totally out of order. I don't need yet more people in my life trying to make me do things their way."

"I know," he agreed with a sigh, sitting back on one of the black leather stalls adjacent to the breakfast bar. "I'm absolutely fucking aware that I need to get this under control. But I'm just as lost as you are. I know that I shouldn't be seeing you, and when that impacts upon my job, well…. shit, I froze."

"You can do your job without being an asshole." Draining her glass of wine, she wiped the last of the sweet droplets from her lips. Her body was buzzing slightly, but she was still firmly in control of it, if of nothing else.

The microwave pinged, cutting the tension between them like a knife through butter. Moving back to the chrome-plated appliance, she pulled the door open. The container inside emitting a huge amount of steam coupled with the most delicious smell. It made her stomach rumble; she realized just how hungry she was. She had last eaten at around 11:00 AM, and that was more than 8 hours ago. Well, at least it was good for her perpetually failing diet.

"I am so sorry." Edward looked forlorn, sitting there on the barstool, biting his lip. If she wasn't so exasperated with his behavior, she might even have gone over to comfort him. Or hug him. Yeah or something.

"I think you know I like you," he paused and screwed his face up, "as in _really_ like you." It was becoming physically painful for Bella to watch him try to find the words he needed. Half of her just wanted to tell him to shut the fuck up and kiss her. But he needed to say it, and she sure as hell needed to hear it after today.

"Things between us got off to a bad start." He gestured at them both as he continued. "Well a really good start. But you know what I mean." She could see amusement flick across his face as he remembered their first encounter.

"This would all be so much easier if you were just a girl in a bar and I was just a guy you'd met. I'd have taken your phone number and taken you out for a date, and tried to get you to invite me into your apartment when I dropped you home.

"But I'm not some guy. I'm _that_ guy, the one whose job it is to make your life a misery, whose beliefs are completely opposed to everything you stand for. I'm the guy who has to fight you every step of the way if he is doing his job right, who has to stand up for the underdog and make sure their voices are heard. I'm not doing it for shits and giggles, Bella. I'm doing it because I believe everybody has a right to representation."

It was one of the longest speeches that he had ever made to her, and Bella could tell that he wasn't done yet; he was on some kind of a roll. He was a strange combination of Edward the leader and Edward the man and the fusion of the two was giving her just a glimmer of hope.

"And yet…" He drifted off, allowing Bella to regroup her feelings. Her heart was in her mouth listening to his words, wondering where he was going with this. "Yet, I find myself absolutely torn in fucking two when I see you. I wasn't joking when I talked about us being Edward and Bella and then the union guy and management consultant. That's how I feel about us, like there are two separate dynamics going on here, and I don't even know which is the real us. Is there an 'us'?" He frowned in consternation.

"Do you want there to be?" She kind of understood where he was coming from with his words, but was amazed that he thought she was able to compartmentalize things as easily as he seemingly did. The man had been married for years; did he know nothing about women?

"Of course I want there to be an 'us'," he responded immediately, articulating the words as if her question was a stupid one. Then, realizing that he was coming across like an asshole again, he gave a short laugh. "I really do. I'm here. I want you. I can't get you out of my mind, heck, I don't want to get you out of my mind. And all this crapstorm that's surrounding us is only making me more sure of that."

Bella bit her lip. They were finally getting somewhere, even if she still wasn't quite sure where the destination would take them. She wasn't certain where she even wanted it to be. He was here in Michigan and she was from Seattle. Even if they could reconcile their differences, did they really have a future anywhere?

"And if you had to choose?" she whispered, knowing that this was what it came down to.

"Between you and my job?"

"Yes, if it came down to it, what would you choose?"

"Jesus, you know how to ask them." His brow furrowed. "What would you choose? Me or _your_ job?"

Dammit, he'd really put her on the spot. "Stop answering my questions with questions." She was deflecting, and he freaking well knew it.

"I think you've just answered mine." His laugh was grim.

"I haven't," she protested, "because I don't know." She was conscious that she had listened to him declare his feelings to her — an act that was clearly difficult for him — without even giving him the same consideration. All she had done was peevishly ask him what he would do in a hypothetical situation. She was as bad as he was at avoiding an open and honest conversation about her emotional state of mind.

"But I know that I want you too. I want to be with you and I want to know that you're there for me, that you'll put me first. Because God knows, most people don't."

"I'll put you first, last and wherever else you want me to. When we clash again at work — because you know we will — I promise I'll try and restrain myself from being a total tool."

Bella felt wistful, like she had everything and nothing. As if life was giving with one hand, and taking away with another. She wondered what somebody like James would do in her situation; would he decide to take a leap of faith and risk a hard won career on somebody he'd be leaving in six short weeks? When she thought of it in those stark terms, it seemed that her choice should be a no-brainer. But they had a connection, one that was palpable whenever they were in close proximity, and she craved the way that he made her feel. Could she really turn her back on this and return to Seattle as if nothing had really happened? Did she want to be the girl who always wondered 'what if'?

Her stomach rumbled loudly again, sounding like a seal on the San Francisco shoreline.

"I guess I'd better warm the pasta up _again_," she smiled through her chagrin.

"Let me do it." He pushed the buttons on her microwave and it rotated for a minute while they luxuriated in the silence. It felt like something had shifted between them and yet had bonded them together. There was more to get through, and so much more that she needed to say to him, but it was a start, and it felt like a promising one.

She stood up and moved over to the microwave which had just finished its program. He followed her; she could feel the heat of his body radiating against her back as he towered over her body. Scooping her hair over her left shoulder, he leaned in to put his lips against the right hand side of her neck. "I really want to make this work," he murmured, his soft breath against her skin causing shivers to run down her body, making the downy hair on her flesh stand on end. "Let's throw caution to the wind and give up on being good."

His hands encircled her, as he pushed her more firmly against the work surface. She had to put her hands on the cool granite to brace herself against the hard weight of his body. Moving his palms up from her waist, he gently brushed along her abdomen before cupping her breasts. His thumbs were stimulating the sensitive nerve endings in her nipples and the sensory overload was almost unbearable. She reached behind her with her right arm to pull his face down to hers. Angling her head awkwardly she crashed her lips against his mouth.

He pulled her around until she was facing him, deepening their embrace, his tongue dancing across hers, teeth clashing. Lifting her slightly he attempted to even out the height difference so she didn't have to crane her neck. But after a moment or two, the awkwardness of their position led to him putting her gently back down. She observed him closely, catching her breath as she felt her skin flush.

"God."

"What you said."

She gave a little yelp as he picked her up and placed her on the granite worktop, her skirt rising up to an unseemly height as it caught on the edge of the counter. She tried to pull it back down, but the spread of her legs didn't allow for this. Edward quickly took advantage and settled his body in between hers, effectively blocking off her access.

He moved straight in for the kill, lips to her neck, knowing that this was a sensitive zone for her. His hands, having full access to her legs now, pushed her skirt up higher, his fingers lingering on the inside of her thighs, moving up oh so slowly until they reached the most tender apex of her legs. He stopped there, letting his thumbs run in small circles around her skin, his face once again leaning down, brushing his lips softly against hers.

"So, do you want to eat?" he didn't stop his hand movements or kisses as he spoke, "or do you want to play around?"

"Hey, you're not playing fair," she complained, tilting her head back to encourage his lips back down to her neck.

"Are you hungry, baby?" His voice was a soft murmur.

"I'm fucking starving, Edward." At the same time she said this, her stomach emitted another enormous gurgle.

"Well, my mom always told me that you can't plan on an empty stomach."

"Do you always do what your mom tells you?" She tilted her head to the side, regarding him critically, remembering what he had said earlier about his mom kicking his ass.

"Only when it suits me." He gave a small grin. "So shall we eat?" He pulled her towards him, encouraging her to wrap her legs around his waist. Their bodies were so close she could feel his arousal through her briefs. She could also hear the ripping sound as the hem of her skirt tore apart.

"Oh shit, I'm sorry!" He released her, inspecting the damage to her skirt. "Goddamn it, I really liked that skirt."

"Me too," she deadpanned. "Luckily for you I know a shit hot tailor in Seattle. I'll send you the bill." She couldn't believe she had capitulated so easily. Again. Luckily the destruction of her apparel had given her the chance to bring herself back down to earth; if she was going to do this thing then it needed to be on her terms, when her mind was ready for it as well as her body. Right now her priority had to be feeding the monster that seemed to be setting up its little growling home in her abdomen.


	20. Chapter 20

**A/N thanks as always to the lovely BelleDean for Beta'ing - she made me laugh out loud at some of her comments; thanks for brightening my day! To the fantastic SunflowerFran - you are a fabulous pre-reader and I'm so grateful for your help. I messed about with the finished result, so any mistakes are mine, but the characters belong to Stephenie...  
**

* * *

**CHAPTER 20 - Secrets and Lies  
**

The ziti tasted as delicious as it smelled, but she could hardly bring herself to swallow it. The monster in her belly was satisfied with a couple of mouthfuls, and after that the hungry feeling morphed into the nervous excitement that seemed to overwhelm her whenever Edward was near. With each minute that passed the air between them seemed to get heavier, like the way the atmosphere changes when a storm is coming. If she had a barometer in the room right then she was pretty sure that the hand would be pointing to 'Hot'.

It was hard to look at him. To see him was to want him, and the way he was looking back at her, like she was desirable and delicious and beautiful, made her feel even queasier.

"Thank you for the food," she mumbled, pushing the half eaten meal away from her. She couldn't look at him, but was aware from the hot blood flushing through her skin that he was staring right at her.

"Not hungry any more?" His voice was low and scratchy. It did things to her insides that she wished it didn't.

"I've had enough food." Always a qualified answer, because if he had asked her in another way she would have had to replied 'I'm fucking ravenous for _you_.' She stared down at the granite countertop, watching as the light caught the irregularities in the stone, making beautiful patterns on the counter. She could feel the heat of his gaze, causing the biggest flush to rise up through her body like acid through litmus paper.

"Bella. Look at me." His voice was still raspy. She felt a sense of deja-vu; hadn't he said something like that before? And it had led to the hottest make out session she'd ever had against a shop window.

Slowly she raised her head, heart beating rapidly, her breath stuttering. She knew that as soon as her eyes met his there would be no going back. The air crackled, literally sizzled around them. She needed this, she wanted it, yet making that final step, acknowledging to him that she was finally ready to move forward, was terrifying to her.

"Baby, please look at me." She could feel his breath now, against her face as he leaned towards her. His hand was cupping her cheek, his fingers caressing her skin. And she still couldn't look, she was so afraid of taking that final step. She feared her feelings, her reactions to him. The emotions she was experiencing were overwhelming; she didn't know how to compartmentalize them.

"Bella, I want to kiss you. I want to kiss you so fucking badly that I can hardly breathe. I need you to tell me its okay." He was whispering now, his mouth so close to her skin that all she had to do was turn her face to feel his soft lips against hers, show him that she, too, was all in.

"_Edward."_ It was a moan and a plea and an affirmation. She could feel his breath coming as harshly as hers, like they were experiencing everything as one.

They were together. This wasn't about her, and it wasn't about him. It was about _them_. And the knowledge that he felt it just as strongly and as firmly as she did gave her the strength she needed to raise her eyes up and look at him. To really see him, _her_ Edward, the Edward who had declared his feelings to her. He was in this thing, really in it. Was she ready to join him there?

And when she looked at him she saw his eyes, the green obscured by the dark, wide pupils, his lips full and pouty and begging to be smashed against hers. Her skin tingled just by looking at him, his face so close to hers that it hurt not to close the distance between them. But he waited, still staring at her, his hand still soft against her cheek. Without opening his mouth, he was telling her that she needed to make the first move, to indicate that she was ready for him. Because there was no doubt where this thing was going. She was so wet just thinking about him, like her body was ready long before her mind had caught up. But now she was synchronized, and she leaned in to finally get that connection that she wanted. Their lips touched.

It was like a storm had arrived, with thunder and lightning and heavy, heavy air. She sucked at his lips, feeling like she had to have part of him inside her. His tongue gently probed against her mouth, dancing across her lips as she moaned at the sensations he was creating. Her hands moving to his head, she grabbed hold of him, twisting and raking her fingers through his hair. He groaned deeply in response. But it wasn't enough, just sitting there kissing. There was still too much space between them, she needed to feel his body against hers. Fingers and hands and lips just weren't sufficient, she needed to consume him.

She stood and pulled at his arm, bringing him up to standing, drawing his body against her. She felt everything; the way her breasts were against his sternum, the way his hard cock twitched against her stomach, the way his thigh rubbed _right there_ making her wetter and needier than ever. She felt it as he kissed her again, his head angled down towards her, his hand holding her chin to steady her as his mouth stole everything she had to offer.

His soft skin was taut over his hard pectoral muscles; she moved her hand across them, his nipples tight as she brushed her fingers over them. He gasped against her mouth, giving in to the sensations, and she smiled into the kiss, loving the fact that she was making him feel as good. He grabbed at her butt, fingers digging in to the soft flesh beneath her torn skirt, pulling her closer to his thigh as he rubbed against her in the most delicious way. And his teasing lips moved down to her neck and nipped and sucked and grazed until she felt like she was floating somewhere in the apartment, high as a kite in response to the drug of his kisses.

She needed to touch his skin, and thought she might die without it. Unbuttoning his shirt, she pushed it away from his body until it was just hanging on his shoulders, giving her full access to the eighth wonder that was his chest. Her hands skimmed, touched, grabbed, and feeling each sinew and hard curve as she moved up from his firm stomach. Kissing the soft downy hair that was scattered over his middle, she then opened her lips and allowed her tongue to find its way to his nipples.

"Can we go to your bedroom?" His voice was strained, like it was being stretched between two poles.

"Over there." She pointed in the direction of her bedroom door, too busy with her fingers and lips to look up at him as she answered.

Then suddenly she was flying through the air, as he scooped her up and all but ran with her to the bedroom. Kicking open the door with his right foot, he walked straight to her bed and placed her gently down, and quickly positioned his body on top of hers.

"You are so fucking beautiful," he said, a reverent tone to his voice, as he bent down to capture her lips. "Please let me have you."

"You already have me." She could barely recognize her own voice. It sounded thicker, deeper than usual.

He pulled her up to sitting so that he could unbutton her blouse, taking it off her with ease, leaving her exposed to him. She dragged down the zipper of her skirt and wriggled out of it while he shook off his opened shirt. Seeing him topless was just too much, she drew him back to her, to the bed, so that she could experience the miracle that was his skin on top of hers.

This was so different than the last time they slept together. Then it had been hot, and sexy and in a way utterly mortifying. But this time he was hers, and she was his, and this was the culmination of their declarations. It didn't make it any less hot, but for Bella meaningful sex was always much more pleasurable than its close, but errant, cousin; the one night stand.

"You have the most fantastic tits," he murmured as he unhooked her bra strap, exposing her breasts. "I can't get enough of them."

"These need to come off," she whispered, tugging at his pants.

He lifted away from her, making her suddenly feel cold without his body heat encompassing her. Pulling his jeans down his legs and throwing them to the side of the bed, he hastily returned to his oral worship of her breasts. "I think I could live on your breasts alone."

"Give us this day our daily breasts," Bella crooned, feeling the sensation increasing as he chuckled against her nipple.

"I may have to join breastaholics anonymous."

"It's not an addiction I see becoming a problem in our relationship." Her fingers were back in his hair now, pulling his face up, desperate to line up their pelvises to provide herself with some much needed friction.

He resisted her demands, instead moving down her body, leaving a trail of soft little kisses as he made his way down to her hips. Lifting them slightly he pulled her panties off, leaving her finally naked under his stare. He gazed up at her through his lashes, his eyes darker than ever. "You are fucking glorious."

And she felt it. She was a goddess, like Aphrodite being worshiped by a beautiful Adonis. She wanted him to look at her, to see every part of her body. The embarrassment she felt after the last time they were together had completely disappeared.

His lips made their way down her pubic bone, licking, grazing, touching. And then he was _there_, his lips and his tongue and his teeth stimulating her, sucking at her, compelling her to make soft moany sounds as she felt him bringing her closer and closer to the edge. Just his words, his kisses, his touch had been enough to raise her up, and now he was pushing her down, down, down until she felt the roller coaster of her orgasm take off, the sensation inside her making her clench and release and buck until she rode it out.

"I need you inside me." She was pulling at his boxers now. She couldn't get enough of him, wasn't sure that having him inside of her would even be adequate. He sprang right up against his stomach.

Then he was lined up with her, and could feel just how slick she was, how wet he had made her. Just a soft thrust of his hips and he was inside her, and the sweet feeling of relief and pleasure made her exhale softly, burying her face into the top of his chest as she felt him start to move.

* * *

The next morning he had awoken her at 5:00 AM with soft gentle kisses to her breasts. They had made love one last time before he had to go home and shower and put on a fresh set of clothes for work. Neither of them wanted to part; to Bella it felt like a band aid being ripped from her skin to see him walking out of her apartment door. But they had already made arrangements to meet again that night, and she knew that she would be seeing him again at work. The thought of that was a gentle torture; she would be able to look but certainly not touch.

As she parked her car in her allotted spot and walked towards the factory, she tried to analyze her emotions. Both as a student, and later as a consultant, her driving compulsion had always been to climb up the greasy ladder to success. Occasionally she may have taken a little slip down; a B+ here, an unsuccessful assignment there, but at all times she had managed to keep her eye on the prize. Now she had experienced the type of connection that she had with Edward, she was second-guessing herself. For a career-oriented woman like Bella, was achievement at any cost the only important thing? Should she be trying to reconcile the personal with the professional?

It was like she was standing on the edge of a cliff. Behind her was everything she knew, everything that was safe about her life. In front, a gaping, black abyss. But even the most comforting things can turn into horror; the candy house in Hansel and Gretel turning into a Witch's cottage, the toy-stuffed cart turning into the child-catcher's prison. And at the bottom of the abyss could be two strong, muscled arms, just waiting to break her fall. The choice had already been made; she was walking blindly off the cliff, putting her faith in Edward Cullen's strength and promises.

These things were running through her mind as she made her way across the shop floor to the office block. The factory was abuzz with talk of the union-management smack down that was scheduled for that morning. It was hard for her not to view this as a metaphor for her fractured life. From the way the laborers were talking, they were romanticizing it as a David and Goliath encounter. Having endured years of Bible Study whilst at school, she was only too aware of how _that_ fight had ended.

Arriving at her office, she barely had time to take off her coat before Aro appeared in her doorway to demand that she attend the meeting with him. Her presence was required, not because of her professional expertise, or her sound judgment, but because Aro wanted another management representative to even out the numbers. Cullen, at the last minute, had told him that McCarty was also planning to attend. She tried not to think that this entire thing could possibly turn into a testosterone–fueled affray.

At 10:00 AM she made her way to Aro's office. This time the door was wide open and his secretary ushered her in, a stark contrast to the previous day when she had been caught eavesdropping on Aro's telephone call. Edward and Emmett were already there, lounging in the leather chairs that were placed around the small working table in Aro's room. Aro, in a curious attempt to assert his authority, was still seated behind his desk. Maybe he was checking emails or playing Minesweeper; Bella couldn't see but she sure as hell could tell that whatever it was, he was using it as just another way of saying '_fuck you' _to the union_._

Not that either Edward or Emmett seemed to mind Aro's blatant disregard of their presence. The latter was leaning back in his chair, legs crossed and laughing like he didn't have a care in the world. Similarly Edward lounged, all muscled legs and tight jeans, listening to his comrade and shooting amused glances at Aro.

None of them had noticed her standing in the entrance to the office yet, but as soon as she walked through the door her footsteps alerted them to her presence and all three snapped their heads up to look at her. She was beginning to understand how a Bearded Lady at a circus must feel. Taking in a deep, but quiet, breath of air, she moved towards the table, wishing that she knew what the general protocol was for looking at people you had no interest in. She really needed to follow it and stop looking at Cullen.

"Bella." Aro rose from his chair and approached her.

"Am I late?" She glanced at her watch. If there was one thing she disliked it was tardiness in herself or others, but the dial told her it was 10:00 AM exactly.

"No, Cullen and McCarty clearly had nothing better to do than sit at my table and shoot the breeze." It appeared that Aro wasn't in the mood for conciliation today. With this kind of disposition, relations between the management and the union were due to hit an all-time low in about five minutes flat.

Edward and Emmett laughed out loud at Aro's words. She regarded them carefully. Were they deliberately ignoring the intent of his sentence, or had it just gone over their heads? Knowing Edward, she believed he was completely aware of how rude Aro was being, but chose to overlook it. Was he biding his time, or was he doing his best to hold in his temper in front of her, as he promised he would? Regardless, she was thankful that at least one side of their dynamic remained stoic.

"Bella." Emmett smiled at her. A genuine toothy grin which made her want to run over and hug him. He was like a lighthouse in a storm in these situations. He seemed to have the ability to see the lightness and humor in any situation. No wonder Edward liked to have him around at meetings.

"Emmett. How are you?" Her tone was cautious, and he returned her gaze with an amused stare. Then, glancing at Edward, she noted that he was looking straight back at her. She tried to count to three and then look away, but her eyes were pulled to his by a gravity-like force. The knots in her stomach pulled tighter. Somehow the stomach butterflies had never really left her since Edward's revelations the previous night. It was like somebody was shining a spotlight down on the two of them; Emmett and Aro faded into the back of the stage like bit part players, while she and Edward stared each other down. The muscles in her legs were twitching, desperate to move towards him, to the close the distance between them.

Edward broke the connection first, ironically enough by talking to her. "Bella. Good to see you _again_. "He wasn't smiling at her, but from the tone in his voice she could tell that he was smirking on the inside. He was a smooth talking, good looking bastard.

"Likewise." She glanced sideways to see Aro regarding them with a curious expression on his face. She hoped they hadn't given anything away. Surely they were going to be more careful than that? She was having a hard time handling the situation.

"Now that the niceties are out of the way, shall we get down to business?" Aro pulled out a chair for Bella to sit down and then joined her at the table.

"I want this to be an open and frank conversation. No bullshit, no holding back. We're too far down the line for that. So I'll say this straight. We'll be sacking Waylon Forge this afternoon."

Talk about calling a spade a fucking shovel. Aro had just lit a match to the driest, most volatile kindling, and Bella had a front row seat from which to watch the resulting explosion. She glanced over at Edward to see his response, watching his hands to see if they would go to his hair in agitation. At first glance his face seemed calm, although once again she was unaware of how much of this was acting; they really did have so much more to learn about each other. His tongue darted out to lick his lips before he responded.

"Well, I think that you know as well as I do that sacking Waylon would be against Company Procedure, " Edward replied, his hand going straight to his hair. Bella almost sighed at his action, maybe she really was getting to know the real him.

"Seriously? You're gonna get rid of him. What about the investigation?" Emmett chimed in.

"I don't need anybody to investigate it. About sixty people witnessed him drunk as a skunk in the production area. He's done."

Bella remained silent. Regardless of her ambivalent feelings towards Waylon Forge, she was still pissed off at Aro's dismissal of Company Procedures; they existed for a reason, and Aro knew as well as she did that if they were disregarded the wrath of the union would swoop down on them like a swarm of angry locusts.

"If you fire him, we'll grieve this, and judging by your position, we'll end up in arbitration." Edward sounded resigned rather than inflamed; Bella wondered if he had anticipated this.

"I have no problem with giving Waylon a little sweetener to make sure this ends here." Aro laughed bitterly. "Even if he will piss it up the wall like he does everything else."

"We could walk out." Emmett banged his fist on the table at Aro's words, his face flushed with anger. He was clearly the bad cop to Edward's good in this conversation; whether this was by prior agreement or by nature remained to be seen. "And just like last week you'll lose production numbers. Not to mention any goodwill you've tried to build up between the management and workers."

"So walk." Aro shrugged, sounding like a man who couldn't give a damn. "We'll lock you out and wave you goodbye. I for one can't wait to see the back of all of this."

"You won't close Fairhaven." Emmett's words were a statement, but they could all tell that it was a question too.

"Just watch me. There's overcapacity in the system, plus a shitload of our factories that could produce these cars. So I want you to listen carefully to me—in fact you can even read my fucking lips if you want—if you walk out I'm closing this plant. And every single one of your members will be out of a job. So do _not_ fucking threaten me with something you can't deliver." Aro sat back, a satisfied grimace unfolding across his lips.

"I don't believe you." Emmett was still doing the talking. Edward was staring at Aro closely, eyes narrowed.

"Fine. Do you what you want, but I guarantee you that if you walk out you won't be coming back. And your boys have as much chance of finding new work as an electrician does in Amish country." Aro grinned at his own joke.

"Then there's nothing else to say." Edward stood up, towering over Aro and Bella as they remained in their seats. Noticing this height difference Aro stood up almost immediately, leaving Bella as piggy-in-the-middle between them. She looked from one man to the other, craning her neck as she did so. Now, more than ever, she felt a pull towards the union leader. It was becoming clearer to her that he was the one man in this whole place that she would put her trust in. And yet here she was, having to back up Aro Volturi in his quest to screw the both of them over. Was that schadenfreude or just her shitty luck?

Emmett stormed out of the room first with a muttered 'laters', said so quietly that Bella wasn't even sure if he had intended to say it or if it was a reflex response. Edward followed behind him, not saying a word, but as he walked past her to the door she felt the lightest touch as his index finger dragged across her neck and shoulder. She shivered and quickly looked to Aro to see if he had noticed. Seeing that he was still staring out of his office door at Emmett's disappearing back, she sighed with relief.

"Well, that went well." Bella let just a modicum of her inner bitch come loose as soon as the union side were out of earshot. Almost immediately, she reminded herself that Aro was her client, not to mention her employer, and decided to rein it back in. "I mean, at least they know where we stand."

"That's true." He turned back around to look at her. "But now the fun begins, Bella. I want you to come down on them like a ton of bricks. Every mistake they make you need to redress, every time they try to take advantage I want you to smack them down like the hard-nosed bitch I know you can be."

She was pretty sure she wasn't supposed to be flattered by his description of her. "Do you think they'll walk out?"

"They'll do something. They have to. Otherwise they sit back and look like ineffectual pansies. Keep your ear to the ground and let me know if you hear of any plans." Aro's cell phone rang as he was finishing the sentence, he pushed the green button and quickly muttered, "I'll call you back," before ending the call. Bella wondered if it was Tanya on the other end of the line, or if her inner Mel Gibson was seeing conspiracy theories where there were none.

"I've got to go down to the shop floor." Aro was walking out of his door even as he was speaking. "I'll catch up with you later to find out how it went with Waylon."

Bella sat at the table, shaking her head. The absurdity of the situation struck her again, and she chuckled grimly, wondering if one day she would look back at this with a true sense of humor.

Gathering her notebook and various pieces of paper that were left on the table, she realized that she was alone in Aro's office. Nobody to see or hear her. All on her own and with the chance to quickly rifle around and see if she could discover anything that might possibly help her cause. It was too good an opportunity to miss, even if she usually tried to toe the line and be a good girl. She was beginning to understand that good girls sometimes get screwed. If she wasn't going to help herself, then nobody else would. So she walked over to Aro's desk, checking as she went that nobody was around in the lobby to see her. Starting with his top draw, a quick rummage threw up nothing more interesting than a bunch of day old production reports and long defunct memos that had nothing to do with her situation.

She carefully pulled out the next drawer. Although Aro's secretary was sitting away in the outer office, Bella didn't want to alert her to the fact that she was basically snooping through his files. There was a huge haphazard pile of reports in there, some looking rather old and obsolete. She bent down to quickly flick through them, and suddenly saw the logo for Grayson Brown on one of them. She recognised the formatting, but it was a report that she hadn't written. Which led her to the next question – who the hell had?

The report was labeled confidential on the front, and was dated three months prior to the time Bella arrived at Fairhaven.

A sudden noise outside the office made Bella stand up quickly and push the drawer closed. She slipped the report in between her pile of papers and walked towards the door. As she looked up, she could see Aro walking into his office, narrowly avoiding bowling into Bella in his haste to enter.

"Good, you're still here. I've just seen Cullen —apparently Waylon Forge has just handed in his resignation." For somebody so desperate to see the back of Forge, Aro did not look at all happy about this news.

"Really? So no meeting this afternoon?" With the report firmly hidden between the pages of her notebook, Bella really couldn't do the happy dance, no matter how much she wanted to.

"No. Those sons of bitches think that they can get one over on me, well they've got another thing coming." His face was blotchy red, he looked like he'd run a marathon rather than just walked up a corridor. "I'll have to find another way of showing them who's boss."

* * *

Back in her office, she closed the door and pulled the report out from its hiding place. Turning over the cover page to see the Author's name, she felt a jolt of pain rush through her head as she saw 'James Hunter' written in bold typeface on the clean white page.

She dropped her elbows to her desk, holding her head in her hands as she tried to regroup. Things were starting to take a clearer form; pieces of the jigsaw puzzle were starting to fit. To speed the process up, there was one person she needed to talk to. She quickly dialed the number.

"Grayson Brown, Angela speaking."

"Hey Ang, it's Bella. How're you?"

"Doing good. Things any better in Podunksville?"

Bella laughed bitterly. "Better and worse. Still missing the coffee."

"Still no chance of an early bath then?" Angela still clearly watched way too much British Rugby. She'd had a fling with a secondee from London a year before, and ever since then came out with some strange terminology.

"If by that you mean 'am I coming home early' then the answer is still 'no'." She was going to add 'unfortunately' but then decided that maybe it wasn't so unfortunate after all. Every day here at Fairhaven was an extra day she got to spend with Edward. That couldn't be _that _bad could it? "I did just want to check a couple of things with you though." She hoped her words sounded light and breezy, not like the desperate harpy that she was in danger of becoming.

"Oh yeah?" Angela was always one to help out, she had a naturally maternal way – no wonder half the interns in the office called her 'Mom'.

"Yes, I don't want to ask James because I'll look like a loser for not doing my research, but I need to know how long we have been associated with Fairhaven Plant?"

"Wow, now you're asking." It sounded like Angela had a pen between her lips as she spoke. "I guess it's been for as long as I've worked here, and I've been here for four years now. I think James first met the head honcho about five years ago in South America somewhere. There was some hoo-hah about shutting down a factory and kidnapping. All I know is that James has always said he'll never set foot in Paraguay again."

This was beginning to ring bells with her. When she and James had first discussed her move to Fairhaven he had admitted that he had worked with Detroit Motors before, but she'd been so busy thinking about their relationship that she hadn't really paid attention to what he had said.

She sat back in her chair and closed her eyes, trying to think back to that lunchtime date. Hadn't he said something about re-engineering the HR function? Could it be possible that he had met Tanya during this time? And Angela had mentioned South America—Bella had a vague recollection that Jasper had told her about this before. If they had both been involved in a hostage situation… well that sort of trauma bound people together, made them comrades, maybe even something similar to the Stockholm syndrome. It made them do things for each other that they never normally would do— even things like leading consultants up like lambs to the slaughter.

Bile rose up from her stomach to her esophagus. To suspect James was one thing, but the reality of knowing that he was betraying her was more visceral, more painful than she had anticipated. She needed to read that report. And she had to talk to Edward. Jesus, what she really wanted was for Edward to pounce on her, devour her, and make her forget she was ever a goddamned consultant.


	21. Chapter 21

******Lots of love to BelleDean for being a fabulous Beta and to ****SunflowerFran3759** for pre-reading and making this stuff look good. And thanks to everybody that has reviewed, pimped, followed me on twitter or friended me on Facebook - please feel free to join me and have a chat! Finally, I've donated an EPOV of chapter 3 to Fandom Fights Hurricane Sandy - lots of great authors are donating a fic and it comes out just before Christmas. If you can spare a dime or two, please give to this great cause (deets on my profile). Thanks & see you next time, Chocaholic xx  


* * *

**CHAPTER 21 - Decisions  
**

She had somehow managed to get through the day on autopilot; talking where necessary, answering the phone and responding to emails as if it was just another day. But it wasn't. It was the day when she had finally realized that she was fucked. There was no way out of this. She had been set up to fail from the very beginning. And while her relationship with James was never a simple one, she had never, ever, suspected that he would have gone as far as this. What had she ever done for him apart from feed his ego and spread her legs and work as hard as a goddamned Trojan whenever he had asked her? And now, even though she had separated herself from him as firmly as he had asked, she was being made to suffer for her transgressions.

And Aro. With his hearty hellos and his fake trust in her and his 'Bella' this and 'we can do it' that. He was all piss and vinegar, and she wanted to hurt him in the worst way. Whatever he had going on with Tanya well really that didn't matter one goddamned jot. It was him, all him, and between Aro and James, they were managing to all but break her faith in mankind.

Not to mention this place she called home. It was like a monument to her lack of grounding. Paid for by Detroit Motors, chosen by Grayson Brown. Even her home was threatened by whatever choices she made in the next few days. And she didn't want this. She didn't ask for this.

But she was in _his_ arms. He was her rock, her hiding place, and she was clinging to him as though the next wave was going to sweep her away. Her eyes were tightly shut, preventing the tears from falling, down her cheeks, past her lips, to her chest, or Edward's hands, or the floor. He was holding her close against his chest, but she could feel from the way his body was vibrating that he was on the edge. They both were.

"I really want to kill that fucker," Edward muttered, his hands running up and down her bare arms.

"Let's try not to add murder to our list of wrong-doings." She appreciated his sentiment, but just the thought of another confrontation between Aro and Edward was enough to make her quake inside. Right now, she wasn't sure she was either emotionally or physically strong enough to withstand that.

"I need to do something, Bella. I can't just sit here and talk this through civilly. I'm scared I'm going to get violent. I don't want you to get hurt in the crossfire."

"I'm already in the crossfire," she replied, burying her head deeper into his chest. "No, scratch that, there's no crossfire here. I'm the freaking target."

He had arrived at her apartment an hour before. She wondered if he had been expecting a nice, fun night, full of kisses and touches and declarations. Instead, as soon as he walked in the door he only had to take one look at her face to know that something was very, very wrong. He had closed the door, and then gently taken her into his arms, as if he knew that it was the only place she really needed to be right then. And it didn't even feel like capitulation anymore. It felt like another part of her was shoring her up, helping her in her quest to find a route through the quagmire.

So she told him. She opened herself up wide and let him in, told him everything she knew about leaked memos and faxes and stolen reports. He had listened to her explanations, eyes wide, features twisted with concern. He had listened and she had talked. And as her lips formed the words she could feel herself falling down into a pit of misery. Not one of her own making, but one made for her, dug perfectly to fit her body and mind and anything else they chose to throw in after her.

And he had stroked her hair, and put soft gentle kisses on her head, and whispered reassuring sweet nothings in her ear as she spoke. It was like he was talking to one of his children, his voice full and low, talking to her in a way Renee had never managed to achieve. Behind each one of his words, behind all of the looks that he gave her as she spoke was the reassurance that she wasn't alone. It was a feeling that was alien to her, but she could feel herself getting used to it with every word he murmured.

"I can't believe you've been going through this alone." His lips were on her cheek now, right below her ear, his hand holding her chin as he spoke. "You must have been to hell and back."

"There wasn't a choice. I couldn't even be sure who to trust." Could she now? She hoped that her candidness would not be rewarded with yet more heartache.

"You know you can trust me. Right?" He drew back from her, the sudden absence of his skin made her blink rapidly and look straight back at him.

"I think so." There was pain in his face as he heard her reply, making her rethink her response. "I mean, I know that I can trust you. It's just really hard to let you in. My head's telling me that you're the last person that I should trust with the report."

Ah yes, the report. She had, of course, read it as soon as she walked in the door, and though the contents had not surprised her, they had made her feel desperately sad as she realized that she was just a patsy in all of this.

James had written the report in his usual clear and concise style. He had recommended closure for the plant, but had suggested that in order to avoid a national backlash—from both the union and customers—that things be engineered to make it look like the union had been the authors of their own demise. That was why Aro had taken so long to even admit that the plant was in such a dire financial state; he had needed to wait until the problems were irreversible, and regardless of any concessions he gained from the union, there was no way to make things work. There was some appendix relating to another company which she didn't understand, but that didn't change the starkness of the report's suggestion.

The other part of the puzzle was how the HR director could survive if such a clusterfuck was allowed to develop. The short answer to that was, of course, that they couldn't. Any HR director whose actions allowed a plant to be closed as a result of union antipathy would quite rightly be sacked. And that was what would have caused Aro problems – Tanya Denali was not only his HR director, but also his lover, and to allow anything to jeopardize her career would have been abhorrent to him. How much easier it would be if a consultant, with no links to Detroit Motors, could take the blame for introducing such inflammatory efficiencies and inciting the union to ring their own death knell.

"Bella." He put his index finger under her chin and lifted her face up until she was looking him in the eye. "I will never abuse the trust you've put in me. Part of me wants to take that report and shove it in Aro Volturi's face, but I know that if I did that you would be implicated. I'd never do that to you."

They were sitting on her couch, Bella curled up and leaning on Edward as he finished reading the report. She had noticed his hands going to his hair a few times, the result of which had led to a total mess on top of his head.

"I do trust you. I wouldn't have shown this you if I didn't." As she said the words she felt the truth of them, she hoped he did too.

"So what do you want to do?" His face was only inches from hers now. It would be a totally inappropriate time for her to lean forward and kiss him. She just needed to remind her lips of that fact.

"Right now, I'd quite like you to go and kill that fucker." Bella's repetition of his earlier curse made Edward laugh out loud. She smiled with him; a small, wan, barely-there smile, but a smile nonetheless.

"It can be arranged." He pulled her head into his chest, placing his face in her hair. "I'm not sure how long I'll last in prison though. I'm way too pretty."

"You've never fantasized about having a boyfriend called 'Bubba'?" The smile was getting bigger.

"I can handle Bubba, it's the lack of conjugal visits that I won't be able to take."

Bella smirked. "I think Bubba will be fulfilling all your conjugal needs."

"Well in that case, no can do. Sorry, but Aro gets to live."

The lightness of their banter was short-lived. Because no matter how much they joked, they both knew that the choices she made would be pivotal for the future of her career.

She rested her head on the back of the sofa, closing her eyes as she tried to get things straight in her mind. A plan was needed here; she just wasn't sure what the hell it would turn out to be. She was both impressed and slightly disappointed that Edward hadn't tried to do more than feel her up yet. Happy because she really needed to concentrate on her next move, and frustrated because she really wanted him to take her mind off the situation.

"Do you want to talk through some alternatives?" Even the feeling of his finger touching her leg was enough to inflame her. She kept her eyes closed as he absent-mindedly traced little circles on her thigh. She really wasn't planning to buck, or arch her back, or encourage his hand higher. But she did.

"The way I see it there are only three choices." She sat up, her face serious as she tried to articulate her thoughts. Edward, noticing her pensive expression, removed his finger from her thigh and moved slightly away from her, trying to give her the space she needed to think things through.

"Option number one is do nothing." She smiled in reaction to his incredulous expression. "Don't laugh. It's an option, and it could be worth considering."

"Number two?" He asked her to continue with a flick of his hand.

"Number two is for me to confront Aro with the report. Maybe James too."

"No way." Incredulity turned to anger. "There's no fucking way I'm letting you go up against those bastards without me."

"No way you're _letting _me do that?" She raised one eyebrow at him, hoping he got the message.

Edward laughed, shaking his head. "Perhaps I should rephrase. I'd really prefer if you didn't confront your maniacal boss and your bastard ex-boyfriend with that report."

"Well, that was better, but you have to know that if it is the best option, then I'll do it."

"I don't doubt it for a minute." He moved closer to her, his chest against her shoulder, lips against her ear. "But don't expect me to be anywhere else but in that room with you." His soft breath on her ear made her shudder. She wasn't going to let him distract her, but it was extremely hard to resist him.

"I guess maybe option three would be best."

"Option three?" he murmured, lips against the soft skin below her ear.

"Option three," she repeated, unable to form a coherent response as her body quivered at the touch of his lips.

"Which is?" His teeth scraped at her skin. She was both surprised and impressed by her own restraint when she didn't immediately turn around and kiss him back. Hard.

"I find some hot, sexy, union guy and tell him to raise hell with it. Fuck my job, fuck Aro Volturi and fuck James Hunter."

"Not literally I hope?" He drew back and gave her a quizzical look. She smiled at his dark humor.

"Okay, the union guy may not be that hot. But I can improvise."

"The union guy is fucking steaming baby." He pushed her back onto the sofa and leaned over her. "And don't you forget it."

* * *

She took the next two days to consider her options. All her training at Grayson Brown had taught her that making decisions in haste always led to a long period of repentance. James had a mantra that was followed by all his consultants: prior planning prevents piss poor performance. It didn't mean that part of her – rather a large part at that – wasn't wishing to shove the report right up the darkest part of Aro Volturi's ass. But she had to be sure in her own mind that she was doing the right thing.

By Friday afternoon, she had all but made her decision. It was an hour until production was due to end for the week, and only the thought of two Fairhaven-free days was keeping her going. Using the time before the production meeting to answer a few emails, she was interrupted by a beeping of her cell phone, indicating that she had a text message.

_**What are you doing tomorrow?**_

She smiled. She'd been hoping that she would get to spend some time with him. Despite the fact that he spent the majority of his weekends with his kids. They weren't at the point in their relationship where either of them would be comfortable with introducing her to them. Still, it looked like he wanted to do _something _with her.

_**I have a hot date with the laundry. Rock and roll baby**_

A minute later she received a reply.

_**Well as much as I hate to cockblock your washing machine, would you like to join me for lunch?**_

She wondered what his response would be if she said 'no'. But her need to see him overrode the need to rile him.

_**Sounds good. Hopefully I'll have some clean clothes to wear by then.**_

His reply came only seconds later. _**Feel free to come naked, but I'll have to warn my mother in advance.**_

It felt like her heart stopped for a second. Was she really the sort of girl he wanted to introduce to his mother? Jesus, what if the woman was a hater?

_**Um. Your mother?**_ She felt that it was pretty restrained in the circumstances.

_**Yeah, she wants to meet you. She's really not that scary.**_

She thought that she'd rather spend a night in Dracula's coffin.

_**Ooookay. But what if she hates me? **_Oh yeah, needy, reassurance-seeking Bella was sure to turn him on.

_**She doesn't bite. And you get a free lunch out of it. What's not to like?**_

She didn't respond straight away, wondering why the hell she was feeling excited at the thought of being introduced to his mother. It wasn't that she was looking forward to meeting the woman—after all, she did have a certain sense of self-preservation—but it was the gesture, the fact that he thought enough about her to want her to meet his family. She felt a tingling in the bottom of her stomach. Could it be that for the first time in her messed up personal life, she was going to have a bone fide grown-up relationship?

_**Hey, what's with the silence? Do I have to promise sexual favors too?**_

Oh yes. Sexual favors would do very nicely. Very nicely indeed.

* * *

Of course she had to remind herself of this again on Saturday morning, as she gutted her entire wardrobe trying to decide what to wear. She had very little that was suitable to meet her boyfriend's mom. Part of her wished she had a wardrobe full of pretty blouses and floaty skirts; the kind of stuff that screamed 'nice girlfriend'. Instead, she had a choice of work wear, jeans and going out clothes, none of which really labeled her as sweetheart material.

Eventually she went for her usual weekend combination of jeans and sweater, and reminded herself to stop being such a needy bitch. Once dressed, she didn't even dare to have one last cigarette. She didn't want Edward's Mom's first impression of her to be full of smoke and nicotine.

Arriving at the café at noon, she looked around but failed to see Edward at any of the tables. There was no hostess to ask if he had arrived; this was clearly not the sort of place that took advanced reservations. It was definitely more diner than cordon bleu. But a glance at the menu chalked on the blackboard told her that the quality of the food belied the workman-like surroundings.

"Bella?" A voice to her right took her by surprise. She turned to see an elegant lady standing next to her. One look at her facial features and hair told her all she really needed to know. This was Edward's mom. Edward's mom was here. Bella was here. Edward was not.

"Uh, hi. Yes. That's me." Loquaciousness was clearly not part of her agenda today. "Mrs Cullen?"

"Call me Esme. Please." She offered her hand out to Bella, who took it and pumped vigorously. It was only the surprised look on Esme's face that reminded Bella that she wasn't at work anymore.

"Oh, yeah. Hi Esme." She wanted to kick herself in the butt for her lack of social niceties. How come they hadn't covered this at school when they had taught them which cutlery to use and when?

"I have a table over here, please come and join me. I'm sure Edward will be here soon."

"He'd better be," Bella muttered as she followed Esme to the back of the room. Then, sitting down at the table, she suddenly became very confused. "Wait, how did you know who I was?"

Esme chuckled, flipping her light brown hair over her shoulder. "I'm afraid Edward won't be very happy with me for telling you. He showed me your profile on your Company's website."

"And you still recognized me? That picture is years old. They keep asking me to replace it, but I figure that in my job incognito is always the best option."

"Well you don't look a day older." Esme winked. "Anyway, my son certainly thinks you're beautiful."

Bella could feel the heat rising up her cheeks. Part of her wanted to respond, "Yes, he told me that the other night after he ripped my panties off." But she decided that perhaps this wasn't the time. She settled for an embarrassed, nose screwed up, "Really?"

"Yes, really. I don't think he's introduced me to anybody since his divorce." Esme sat back and thought for a minute. "Nope, can't think of anyone."

"Oh." Bella really wasn't winning conversationalist of the year today. She hoped Esme didn't think she was backward. Or bitchy.

"Don't be so surprised. He's hardly had time to date anybody. What with his children, and all the responsibility he's taken on at work. That's why I'm pleased that he has met you."

Bella really didn't want to disabuse his mom of this impression of her, but she knew that not only was she adding to his worries, but her actions had actively caused a great many of them. Luckily their conversation was interrupted by the arrival of a waitress, asking if they wanted coffee. Having both indicated that they did, she proceeded to fill their mugs from the percolator jug she was holding.

"So Edward tells me you're from Seattle?" Esme took a sip of her coffee, then wrinkled her nose up and added a spoonful of sugar.

"That's where I'm based. I've lived all over; my Mom didn't like to stay in one place for too long."

Esme smiled at her response. "So you're not too attached to Seattle then?"

Bella could see what she was hinting at. She was trying to find out the long-term future for her relationship with Edward. Since it wasn't a conversation she'd even managed to have with the man himself, she couldn't see herself bearing all to his mother. "I guess I follow the work." She shrugged, adding cream to her coffee and stirring it around, making pretty patterns in the cup. "It's the nature of my job."

"You sound as attached to your work as Edward is to his." Esme caught her eye, and Bella was surprised by the color; they were the exact same shade of green as Edward's.

"I've noticed he's very dedicated." And damn well late. She was looking forward to ripping him a new one later. So much for a human shield, even sexual favours couldn't get him out of this one.

"He's very passionate about workers' rights. He gets that from his father. My husband was a shop steward too before he died."

"I'm so sorry."

"It's been a long time. He was killed in an industrial accident twenty years ago." Esme's lips pulled back to form a sad smile. "It was hard on all of us at the time. I think that's why Edward works so hard; he doesn't want anybody else to have to go through what we did."

Questions were forming in Bella's mind. She quickly worked out that Edward must have been in his early teens when his father died. How hard that must have been for him, to lose his dad at such a young age. Bella knew; she too suffered from a lack of paternal direction.

"That's so sad. I can't tell you how sorry I am." All she could come up with were platitudes. Somehow it didn't seem like enough, so she reached out and touched the older woman's hand with her own. "You both seem so strong."

"He had to grow up so quickly, and that upsets me. But I'm so proud of the man he is today." Esme's eyes looked up from Bella's gaze, "and here's the man himself." Esme stood up and put her arms around her son, as Bella sat and watched. Seeing him here, in a pair of dark straight jeans, and a black shirt, unbuttoned at the collar, she could barely remember that she was annoyed with him. She swallowed as she looked at the way the thin material clung to his chest and skimmed his abdomen. Right now she really wanted to skim his abdomen too. With her tongue.

And seeing him hug his mother, leaning down to whisper something in her ear, made her smile. That was cute. Had she really worried about him being a Momma's boy? Didn't they say that you should see how a man treats his mom, because that is how he'll treat his future wife?

With that thought the blush rose through her cheeks again. How could she be thinking about how he'll treat his wife, when they were only just at the start of their relationship? She hoped that neither he, nor his mother, could tell what was on her mind.

Then he was standing before her, pulling her up from her seat and kissing her cheek. "Don't kill me for being late. I've got a really good excuse." She could barely hear him, his words muffled by her skin as he continued to rub his lips against her face.

"I'm looking forward to hearing it. I'm still thinking of ways to make you pay." She kissed his ear as she murmured into it, enjoying the response of his body to her soft breaths. Then she realized where they were, or rather who they were with, and sat down quickly, trying not to look too excited by his mere presence next to her.

Soon after, they ordered lunch. The conversation flowing between them as they drank copious amounts of coffee and indulged in the food offered by the diner. When they had finished dessert—a wild cherry flavored ice cream heartily recommended by Edward—Bella was shocked to see that two hours had passed. She couldn't remember the last time she had spent so long over lunch. Or spent so long in a diner for that matter; casual dining wasn't really Renee's cup of tea. She was all about the Cordon Bleu when Bella was growing up.

Leaving the diner, Esme gave them both a hug goodbye as they stood on the sidewalk. Bella surprised even herself by hugging Esme back—it was rare for her to be so touchy-feely with somebody she had just met. But there was something about her that just pulled people in.

"I guess I owe you that explanation now," Edward said, watching Esme walking towards the parking lot and pulling Bella closer with his arm over her shoulder. Instinctively, she placed her hand on his hip, closing her eyes at the sensation of his warm skin burning her hand through his thin shirt.

"I'm all about the retribution. Didn't you promise me sexual favours?" Edward raised his eyebrows at her response, his expression changing from contrite to aroused with a few twitches of his facial muscles. And a few of Bella's muscles twitched in response to him too.

"I guess I did the crime. I'll do the time too."

"I don't think it'll take too long." Her hand moved down from his hip to his behind, squeezing gently as she did so. She wasn't even embarrassed at the fact that they were in plain sight of Joe Public.

"Then let's go back to my place," Edward whispered in her ear as she ground her body closer to him. "I'd really like to have you back there. Again."

She knew he was referring to the last time she was there, that night of drunken sex and the morning after of hung-over shame. They deserved a do-over.

"Okay. And after you've begged I can tell you which option I've chosen." At her words he looked straight down at her quizzically.

"You've decided?" His forehead bunched up as he spoke.

"Yes. And I want your help." She smiled at him, brushing a stray lock of hair out of his eyes. "You've been very patient waiting for me to make my mind up."

"I didn't want to rush you. This is your show, baby, I'm just the chorus. I'll work with you, back you up, but I'm not going to pressure you to do something you don't want to."

"I know, and I appreciate that. But I trust you. I know you won't let me down." She was trying to articulate the feelings that had been building up in her all week. Just the thought of him was enough to calm her down and rile her up, all at the same time. He cocooned her, made her feel safe, but there was still an edge to him. She liked that edge, wanted to run her fingers down it until they bled, then let him suck them gently to relieve the pain.

"So let's go then. You can follow me back. Where are you parked?"

Bella indicated the parking lot across the road with a flick of her hand, and they started to walk across the road towards it. As they did so, Bella's mobile phone beeped, alerting her to an incoming text. Deciding that self-preservation was more important than curiosity, she waited until they reached the other side before pulling her phone out and pressing the text button.

_**Ask Aro what he is trying to cover up. Don't reach the easy conclusion.**_

It had been sent from a blocked number. Was this the same person who was leaking documents to her? If it was somebody working at Fairhaven, they could easily look up her number – it was in the online directory. Were they aware that she had read the contents of the report, or did they think she was still relying on the leaked emails and memos? And what more could Aro be covering up, for God's sake? Wasn't his plan to close the plant enough?

Lifting her cell phone up, she showed Edward the text before hitting the reply button.

Edward mouthed at her "What easy conclusion?"

She wished she was a star in a detective show; then she would easily be able to look up the owner of that cell phone number. Instead she was just as in the dark as she was before. Or possibly even darker. Only minutes ago she thought she knew the route ahead, even if it was dark and muddy and covered in rocks. Now the text had stopped her in her tracks. She wanted to be able to talk to this person, to question their knowledge, to find out their motives. Most of all she wanted to know exactly who the hell they were.


	22. Chapter 22

**Not my characters! This story comes to you by the grace and goodwill of my lovely Beta BelleDean, and brilliant pre-reader Sunflowerfran3759. See bottom for A/N  
**

**CHAPTER 22 – The beginning of the end**

As the evening drew near, temperatures dropped and Bella was shivering as she opened the door to her car. She sat down quickly and cranked the heat up to high, putting her hands right against the blowers to warm them up.

Edward was parked on the other side of the parking lot; they had agreed that she would drive over to meet him at his car so that she could follow him home. The last time she had been to his house she had been in a taxi, and was rather preoccupied, so following Edward seemed the safer option.

Snow had begun to lightly fall, the soft downy type, the sort that made everything look pretty and festive. She was surprised, and just a little perturbed by how quickly the cold weather had arrived—it wasn't even Thanksgiving yet.

Edward was driving cautiously in front of her. She wondered whether it was a chivalrous attempt to ensure that she wasn't caught behind him at any amber lights, or if he was always this judicious when handling a car. Either way she found herself relieved to have a few moments to herself, in her car, to think about the implications of the text message she had received.

No matter how much she had thought that she had solved the puzzle, the message was trying to tell her that she hadn't made it home quite yet. But did she trust the messenger? As long as they were hiding behind their cloak of anonymity, she had no reason to believe everything that they had told her. She needed to understand their agenda, to work out exactly why they were leaking information. And more importantly, why they had chosen Bella to leak it to.

The route back to Edward's house took them past the factory. A few cars were parked here and there in the parking lot—Bella assumed that it was mostly the maintenance crew, using the non-production time to tune up the machinery and grease the wheels of capitalism. The maintenance crew was like a different species. They worked through the nights and weekends, and then, unless there was a problem on the line, they would not be spotted all week. They were the vampires of car production.

Bella shook her head slightly, realizing that her mind had drifted. She needed to concentrate and think about that text message. If she didn't crack the code soon, she felt like her head was going to explode. She knew that the answer was in there somewhere, amongst the emails and memos and reports. She just needed to put her finger on it.

When they arrived at Edward's house, she was still trying to work out what the hell it was she was missing. As far as her Deep Throat knew, she had only received the leaked emails and memos. She really wanted to get hold of them, and put them in a chair under a bare light bulb, James Bond style, and interrogate them until she got the answers she needed.

Yet deep down, she knew that the answers weren't the most important thing in this equation. It was what she had to _do _with the answers that were going to cause her a world of pain. Because she knew that whatever happened, once she opened this can of worms she would never be able to close it again. Being removed from Fairhaven straight away was a given. Her future at Grayson Brown? That was unclear. Either she would keep her head down and carry on or, more likely, she would end up facing some kind of censure.

And that brought her full circle back to Edward. Her lips curled into a smile just thinking about him. He had been so sweet when he had been late today.

"Hey, why were you late for lunch anyway?" she asked him as he walked across the driveway to meet her, his feet making gentle imprints on the sheer covering of snow.

"To the diner?" he asked, putting his arm around her as they walked to his house. "I thought you'd chosen sexual favors?"

Bella puffed out a gentle laugh, the action causing vapor to rise into the air like a dragon breathing fire. "Can't I have both?"

He had opened the door and was ushering her in. There was instantaneous relief as she felt the warm air of the house cocoon her body. She wasn't a big fan of snow—too cold, too wet.

"You're being very greedy today." His arms circled around her waist as he pulled her body against his chest, the heat from his skin warming her as much as the heater.

"It's probably better than needy," she muttered, gasping as his lips brushed against the soft, sensitive part of her neck. "And you promised you'd tell me."

"Okay, Miss Demanding." Her skin raised in tiny goose bumps as his lips smiled against her flesh. She wondered if he could feel them. "I was late because I needed to take Leah and Seth back to Kate's house. And while I was there we got into a bit of a discussion."

"That doesn't sound good." For Bella, 'a bit of a discussion' was a synonym for an argument. She had heard her fair share of those during the times she had visited Renee and Phil during school vacations.

"No, no. It was good." He paused, screwing his face up as he thought. "I mean it was a good discussion. We got to talk some things out."

She felt a shot of jealousy shoot through her body at his words. She was pissed that he had to have any kind of conversation with his ex-wife, even if she knew that he had to.

"What things?" She asked.

"I told her about you. About us." His hand raked through his hair as he spoke. "I don't want to hide you away. It's important to me that we do things properly. "

Bella was aware that her facial expression had frozen; she wasn't sure how she was supposed to feel about this. She was pleased, of course she was pleased, that he was serious enough about her to introduce her to his mother and tell his ex about their relationship all on the same day. But unfortunately, it was the very same day that she had made the decision to confront Aro, and possibly lose her job in the process. Plus her home. In fact, all the ties she had to Michigan.

Apart from Edward.

"How did she take it?" She bit her lip, wanting to elongate the conversation so she wouldn't be tempted to overanalyze her feelings.

"She's pleased. According to her 'it's been a long time coming'." Edward touched Bella's left shoulder slightly and turned her around so that he could see her. "Baby, she's no threat to us."

It was like he could read her mind. Bella had never considered herself the jealous type. Perhaps this was because she usually failed to have a decent, normal relationship. To have been jealous of Victoria, when she was James's other woman would have been laughable. But still, the knowledge that Edward had been with Kate for a long time—long enough to be married with two children—was going to take a while to get used to.

"I'm glad you told her." And she was. There was a certain victory in knowing that he wanted their relationship to be official. She looked up at him and smiled, at first softly, but the muscles in her cheeks fought against her good sense and widened her smile into a triumphant grin.

Edward smirked back at her, his eyes crinkling at the edges as he did so. Bella wanted to touch those wrinkles, smooth her finger along them. "Then we're good. And maybe one day, when we're ready, I can introduce you to my kids."

Shit, that was scarier than being introduced to his mom. Sure his mother's opinion mattered, but it was nothing compared to the approval—or not—of his children. Their judgment would make or break their relationship. It made her feel like a kid on the first day at school, desperately trying to win the approval of the teacher.

"Damn, you look like a deer caught in the headlights." He pulled her closer to him, gently cradling her head against his chest. "I'm not saying we have to do it right away. And I know that there's a whole load of shit that we need to go through. Not to mention the small issue of a few thousand miles between us."

"I don't even want to think about that," she muttered, burying her face deeper into his shirt, breathing in the clean smell of the laundry detergent and soap emanating from his chest.

"I know. But we'll need to think about it soon. No matter what we decide to do, right now your home is in Seattle." His tone was deeper, softer. She didn't dare look up at him to see his expression, afraid of what it might do to her.

Instead, she mumbled into his chest, preferring to talk directly to his heart rather than his face. "I think I'm probably ready for the sexual favors now."

Two hours later they were sitting in his living room, Bella curled with her legs underneath her on the sofa, Edward sprawled beside her, legs wide and open as he leaned back on the chair.

He had loaned her his laptop, and although part of her was nosy enough to want to view his browsing history, she tried instead to concentrate on her search for information.

The information she was specifically seeking was on 'HLA Inc', the company mentioned in the report that James had written. When she first read the report she had ignored the reference to HLA Inc, since she believed that Aro's plan was to close the plant. Now, she was going back to basics, trying to investigate every possible lead to try and find out exactly what Aro was trying to achieve.

But trying to pin down specifics on this company was all but impossible. She did a basic Google search which brought up a myriad of useless results – listing amongst others an engineering company, a landscaping company and a sex store. A brief click on each revealed no connection whatsoever to Aro Volturi, the Fairhaven Plant or Detroit Motors.

"Any luck?" Edward was watching her face closely as she became increasingly frustrated.

"Not yet, I'm usually the Google queen." She closed the laptop in frustration. "I'm going to have to call in the big guns."

"Hey! Who's got a bigger gun than me?" Edward pretended to be insulted. Bella found it endearing and reached across to him and hit him across the chest.

"I need somebody who knows how to research companies thoroughly. I'm not after them for the junk in their trunk."

"In that case, I may be able to help you." He stood up and walked over to the sideboard where he had left his phone. "My brother-in-law is an accountant. He's shit hot at his job."

"Your brother-in-law the rock singer?" Bella's frown crinkled with incredulity.

"That's just his hobby. Ben knows the finance of companies inside and out. He may be able to give us some pointers."

"Then what are you waiting for? Call him already." She bumped her shoulder against his as he sat back down next to her.

Edward made the call and explained to Ben what they wanted. Then they waited. For an hour. A tortuously slow hour, during which time they made coffee, had a play fight, and tried to watch an old episode of Friends. Bella was amazed at all they could fit into sixty minutes as they whiled away the time.

When Ben eventually did call back, Edward immediately put him on loudspeaker.

"Hey Ben, thanks for doing this for me, bro."

"No problem. I haven't got much though. There's only so much legitimate investigating I can do before my Company notice. But what I have found is a link between the Fairhaven Plant and HLA." Ben's voice sounded tinny, like he was far away. She had to move closer to Edward's phone to be able to make out the words. Her hands were gripping the fabric of his sofa so tightly she was afraid she was going to pull it off altogether.

"So what is it?" Edward pulled her closer still, until she was curled around his body like a cat against a post.

"It looks like some sort of connection with the pension fund. I can't find out too much more than that without my employer getting suspicious. All our web traffic is monitored."

"I don't want you to get into trouble over this. Lucy would bust my ass. I really appreciate it, man." Edward's face looked up at Bella.

"Is Bella with you?" Ben asked, as another voice could be heard behind him. It sounded like there was some sort of discussion going on, but it was faint and muffled so that Bella couldn't work out what was going on.

"Er, yeah." Edward was clearly as in the dark as she was.

"Well, I'm trying my hardest to stop Lucy from grabbing the phone," Ben's voice sounded breathless, like he was running. "But she's gaining on me. I'm not sure I'll make it to the bathroom and lock the door before she gets…."

Another voice came on to the line. Female this time. "Edward." She sounded stern, like she was berating a child.

"Lucy." Edward caught Bella's eye and smiled. "How are you? Do I need to take this off loudspeaker?"

"Oh no, don't do that." Lucy's voice sounded lighter now that she realized she had an audience. "I just wanted to say that Mom called and gushed about your lunch today. I'm sure my invitation must have been lost in the mail."

"It was a last minute thing, Luce." He couldn't keep the grin off his face. "And anyway, what makes you think we wanted you there?"

"But Mom got to meet Bella before I did. That's not fair."

"Hey, that's not true. You met Bella a few weeks ago. She came to the Twilight Bar that night when Ben's group was playing." Edward's eyes rolled in response to his sister's petulance.

"Oh. Ooooohhhhh. That was Bella." You could all but hear the realization coming across in Lucy's voice. "She was cute."

"Still is," Edward quipped, putting his hand under Bella's chin to lift her face up. "Yep, I can confirm that she is still pretty cute."

Bella grinned. It had only been a couple of hours since they had managed to drag their asses out of his bed and down the stairs, but right now all she wanted to do was drag him straight back up there again.

"So when do we get to officially meet her?" Lucy was persistent, Bella would give her that.

"No idea. We're currently staging a bed-in for world peace." He grinned at Bella. She closed her eyes as she imagined them lying in bed, John and Yoko style, for a whole, deliciously long, pleasurable week.

"I guess Ben and I will have to come to you then. Don't worry, I'll bring my pjs."

"And, we're done." Edward turned the loudspeaker off and put the phone to his ear. "Speak soon, Sis. In about a week. Or maybe two." Ignoring the spluttering reply coming down the line, he pressed the end-call button and threw his cell phone on the arm of the sofa.

"I am so sorry about my family. They are without a doubt the most annoying, nosy, talkative bunch that I've ever had to deal with." Edward grimaced as he thought of them all. "And today we've managed to have them all. My Mom, Lucy, I've even regaled you with tales of my ex wife. Please don't leave me." The last sentence came out as a whisper, as he leaned his head toward Bella for a kiss.

Devouring her mouth for a moment or two, he then pulled back and looked at her. "So, it sounds like HLA does have a Fairhaven connection. What do you want to do next?"

"I need to get into the office again. I'm not sure where to start though. I guess I need to find out who administers the pension fund," Bella mused, thinking aloud. "Do you know if it is a general fund, or is it plant specific?"

Edward frowned. "Plant specific. Carlisle was a fiduciary before he died. I don't think he has been replaced yet."

"So it's covered by ERISA?" Bella asked, wondering if the pension plan was legally protected.

"Yes, the fund was set up in the 60s, but once ERISA came into play then it was amended and run according to those standards. I really don't know much more than that, it was never really something that floated my boat."

She needed to find out as much as she could about the fund, but Edward was clearly not the person who was going to provide her with that much-needed information. She was going to have to find out who the other fiduciaries of the plan were. Who were the people who made the choices about the investments? And what link did they have to this HLA Company?

* * *

Another Monday morning arrived, and Bella walked across the parking lot, unable to shake the feeling that this could well be the last one she spent at Fairhaven. She would miss the sound and smell of the factory; she'd even miss the terse voice of Tyler Crowley as he shouted at her across the shop floor. Most of all she'd miss being able to work in the same environment as Edward. Even though they had been on different sides, the fact was that their relationship had developed here in Fairhaven. Like a rose growing from manure, maybe it had even been strengthened by the shit that had flown around.

One thing she wasn't going to miss was Aro Volturi. In fact, she was positively looking forward to confronting him with her findings before she waved him goodbye. Now, she only needed to work out exactly what her findings were.

Walking into the main HR office, she sought out Emily Young, the advisor she was closest to.

"Emily, I need to get a quick briefing on the Fairhaven Pension fund. Can you meet me in my office in ten minutes?"

Emily looked surprised to be singled out. Bella didn't have the heart to tell her that she hadn't quite mastered putting names to the faces of the other advisors yet.

"Yeah. Sure, I'll just get a couple of files." Emily jumped up from her chair and almost ran to the filing cabinet. Bella couldn't help but smile at her eagerness to please, like an over-excited puppy.

"I'll see you there. I'm just going to get a caffeine injection." Bella replied as she walked out of the door.

Ten minutes later they met in Bella's office. The younger advisor took her through a brief presentation about the pension fund, before showing Bella the files that they had on the pension administrative committee.

As Bella read through the file, she saw that the committee consisted of four people: Aro Volturi, Carlisle Masen and two lay members. Each of these had fiduciary duties, a role that was to be taken very seriously.

"How do I find out who the lay members are?" Bella asked Emily, as she flipped through the over-sized file.

"I know who they are. One of them is a lady called Carmen Medici, she's an attorney based near Fairhaven. The other is an ex- colleague of Aro's or something. He's a consultant from somewhere in the west."

Bella closed her eyes momentarily, barely wanting to articulate the next sentence. "He wouldn't happen to be called James Hunter would he?" she asked dryly, already knowing the answer.

"That's it! How did you know?" Emily suddenly looked interested, and Bella realized that she needed to rein things in a bit before Emily started to question her sudden interest in the pension fund.

"I think I've heard Aro talking about it." Bella quickly covered her tracks. "It's starting to come back."

"I'm in awe of your ability to remember everything." Emily admitted, looking at Bella as if she was a movie star. "I'm going to miss having you around here when you're gone."

Bella smiled grimly, knowing that day was going to come much sooner than Emily suspected.

"Do you have the minutes of the last meeting?" she asked, starting to feel guilty at the way she was using Emily's knowledge. "Even better, the last few?"

"I'll email them over to you. Do you want me to leave this file with you?" Emily stood up to go back to her office.

"I guess. I'll return them later." Bella was weighing up the pros and cons of keeping the pension file. The pro was obvious—she would have access to all the evidence she needed. The cons were not so clear. She needed to consider the possibility that Aro might catch her with it and realize her intentions. In this case, she decided, the pros definitely had it.

When Emily's email arrived with the minutes from the last five meetings attached, Bella gently closed her door to give herself some privacy. Going through them in chronological order, she wasn't surprised at their dryness. James hadn't even attended most of them—clearly flying to Michigan from Washington for a one-hour meeting was too much of a commitment.

By the time she got to the final set of minutes, her energy was flagging. The muddy cup of coffee she had consumed earlier had lost any potency now, and her body was begging her for another caffeine hit. Glancing at her watch, she saw that she had very little time left before she needed to show her face on the shop floor. It was rare that she spent any length of time alone in her office, and she really didn't want to alert anybody to her secret investigations.

Allowing her body go into coffee cold-turkey mode, she opened up the final set of minutes. The attendance list showed that James had been present at this one, although Carlisle had not. Glancing at the date she realized why; the meeting had taken place on the day of Carlisle's funeral. Bella grimaced at the thought of business as usual carrying on while the man was being buried by his loved ones. She hoped she wouldn't have to tell Edward about this. There was no telling how he would react.

Thinking back to the day of the funeral, she remembered that Aro had driven up to Ann Arbor after the service, claiming he had a meeting to attend. He'd also told her that James was going to be in town. But why the hell had they decided to meet on the day that one of their fellow committee members was being laid to rest? She couldn't fathom the reason.

Glancing through the notes, she saw that the meeting had begun in a run-of-the-mill way with the usual discussions on returns and investments. But near the end of the notes, just before they declared the meeting closed, she saw something that made her gasp. As part of a review of the pension fund investments, the committee had agreed to loan twenty million dollars to HLA Inc.

And that was the connection.

Jesus, she needed to talk to Edward. But she wasn't sure that it was prudent for them to meet, even if she was at the point where she didn't care if they were spotted. She knew that the postal vote for union leader was under way, and the last thing she wanted to do was jeopardize Edward's chances of winning.

But twenty million dollars. _Twenty million freaking dollars._ The pension fund, in the absence of Carlisle, had agreed to loan a massive amount of money to a company that she had never heard of. Jeez, it was almost impossible to find any information about this company; were they really a reliable investment?

She wasn't sure that she could wait until that evening to go and talk to Edward. Her foot tapped erratically against the floor as she tried to decide what to do next. She really should go down and see Tyler for their daily production catch up. Or let Aro see her walking around. The element of surprise was probably the only weapon she had left. She didn't want to alert him to her change in allegiance.

Giving herself a good talking to in her head, Bella slammed her hand on her desk and stood up. Her shoulders and neck were feeling stiff from all that hunching over her laptop, so she circled them a few times to loosen up the muscles. Leaning down to close down the word document, she locked her laptop to keep it away from prying eyes. She decided to walk down to the factory floor. If, on the way, she happened to bump into a tall, lean, muscled, deputy union leader, then all the better.

As she went to walk out of her door, she was all but knocked over by Edward storming towards her. She stepped back into her office in reaction to his fast movement, with Edward following closely behind. Closing the door, he turned the plate in the middle of the door handle to lock it.

"I've just had a phone call from Ben." He leaned towards her as he spoke, his hand reaching out to touch her hair. "He's managed to do a bit more digging on HLA."

Bella's eyes widened at the expression on Edward's face. It was a mixture of anger and confusion. She stifled the urge to put her hand out to try and wipe it away.

"How did he manage to do that?" Her words came out as a whisper.

"He has a journalist friend who has access to financial information. He's discovered the names of HLA's directors."

Bella's heart sank. Just as with Emily, she knew the words before he could articulate them. She almost wanted him to stop, because to know meant she would have to act. Right now plausible deniability sounded like a wet dream.

"Aro?" she asked, putting her hand on his arm to steady herself.

"Yes. But it's worse. There are two other directors."

"Two?" she echoed, "who?"

"Tanya Denali." Edward swallowed loudly. "And James Hunter."

Bella squeezed her eyes closed for a moment as she came to the realization that Aro and James had just helped themselves to twenty million dollars of pension fund money.

"Edward." Her voice was low and strained. She knew she was about to deal the killer blow.

"What?"

She put her arms around him, wanting to do anything she could to cushion him from the words she was about to deliver.

"The pension fund has loaned twenty million dollars to HLA." As she spoke she squeezed her eyes tightly closed for a moment, unwilling to subject herself to his reaction.

"Ho…how much?" he stuttered.

"Twenty million dollars." She prayed to God that he wasn't going to ask her when the transaction took place.

"How long ago?" He asked. Clearly God had taken the day off.

"A couple of weeks ago." Her voice was soft, her expression pained. She knew that Edward had to be feeling this, the dread of knowing that the future of each of his members had just been stolen by a dummy company, set up by Bella's ex-lover and her boss. She almost felt the need to apologize to him.

"But why?"

"Because they're greedy fuckers." She was bitter now, and it was showing. James and Aro had taken advantage of Carlisle's death to steal money from Aro's own workers.

The plans to close the plant now seemed like a smokescreen, a way to divert everybody's attention as the retirement fund was plundered. It was a good ploy too— who would be worrying about the pension fund when people were losing their jobs? And the union's attention would have been taken up with trying to either keep the plant open or at least negotiating a good payoff for its members. She supposed that eventually HLA Inc would have undergone some sort of bankruptcy, default on the loan and leave Aro, James and Tanya substantially better off. By twenty million fucking dollars.

"Are we too late?" Edward wondered.

"James and Aro are pretty clued up. I bet they organized the transfer as soon as the committee gave the go-ahead. They wouldn't have wanted to take a chance that the new Union representative would put a veto on it at the next meeting." For the first time in her life Bella truly felt like pulling her hair out. "I'm going to see Aro _now_. I can't stand the thought that he thinks he is going to get away with this."

"Not without me, remember." Edward's voice was gentle now. "I said I'd be there when you confronted him"

"Edward." She started to pace around the room in an attempt to hold things together. "I don't want to confuse things by revealing we're together in this. There's no way I'm going to hand him any moral high ground."

"Jesus Christ, woman, won't you ever let me protect you?" Just a hint of the old Edward was coming through, but Bella knew him well enough by now to understand that it was just the frustration talking.

"Of course you can protect me. But it won't do me any good if Aro or James find out about us." He had to know she was speaking the truth.

"Okay. You can go in alone but I'm going to hang around nearby. In case you need me."

"I'll always need you," Bella murmured, putting her arms back around his neck. "Thank you for being here." She allowed herself one last, desperate embrace before releasing him. "I'm going to go now."

"Wait." Edward curled his hand around her arm to pull her back towards him. "I want you to know that regardless of what happens from here, I'm still all in." The warmth of his voice made her heart flutter. "I'm here for you."

"Thank you," Bella cut her words short as she felt her eyes start to water. She couldn't allow any emotion to cloud her judgement right now. Keeping cool was of the utmost importance.

Walking away from him, she realized that this was the beginning of the end. The jigsaw puzzle may have been complete, but their future was fuzzy and undefined. And she was desperately trying to gauge if it included Edward or not.

**A/N - I anticipate there being approx 4 more chapters left (plus a possible epilogue) so not long to go now. **

**I'd like to thank SparrowNotes24 and cutestkidsmom for all their support - both these ladies are fabulous writers and you should check out their multiple fics (Mud, Sweat and Beers, Adagio for SparrowNotes, Because of a Boy and Salacious for Cutestkidsmom). I'd also like to thank all of you who have reviewed, rec'd, or messaged me this week - I thrive on your support like a vampire thrives on blood.  
**

**Finally (!) I am going to be posting a Christmas fic called 'Baby It's Cold Outside', starting on 14th December. There will be short chapters posting over 11 days , taking us right up to Christmas Eve. I'd love it if you would join me for the ride. It will be light and fluffy easy reading - like a fictional version of an advent calendar!**


	23. Chapter 23

**A/N BelleDean cuts the head off my semi-colons and turns them into commas. She is an awesome beta. Sunflowerfran is my fabulous pre-reader and supporter. I love those guys. And thank you all for the reviews, follows and recs. And if you need something fluffy and light to read after this, check out my Christmas Fic 'Baby It's Cold Outside'. 2 chapters posted, with 9 more to go, right up to Christmas Eve.  
**

**CHAPTER 23 - Accusations**

Since she was a child, Bella had always been a people pleaser. Perhaps she should have undergone extensive therapy, seen it as just another 'spa treatment' like her mom did. Maybe then, she would have realized that her desire to please stemmed from her scattered upbringing. Being dragged around the country, sometimes the world, in the wake of Renee's search for Mr Right, meant that Bella constantly had to make new friends and acquaintances. First impressions counted, and she had craved approval from children and adults alike. By the time she went to boarding school, the need to please had transformed her into a hard worker; gaining the much desired approbation for her academic work.

Her few attempts at rebellion had been laughable. Sharing a cigarette with Mike Newton had made her feel like Marlon Brando from the Wild Ones. If she had dabbled in drugs, her brain would probably have imploded.

So, as she walked down the corridor towards Aro's office, the sense of trepidation coursing through her veins was palpable. Whatever happened in his office, her life would never be the same once she entered the room.

And she was afraid.

She didn't want to be the one to have to do this. How was she even going to begin the conversation? As she walked, she ran through a few scenarios in her head.

_"Hey Aro, so I hear you're a criminal. Bernie Madoff, eat your heart out!"_

Or perhaps the more serious: "_So Aro, care to tell me where you've squirreled away twenty million dollars of your employees' hard earned savings?"_

Maybe she should consider cutting to the chase. "_Aro, I know all your dirty secrets. Do you want to sack me or kill me?"_

She was reaching the end of the corridor that lead to Aro's office. Glancing back, she saw that Edward was some way behind her, shadowing her journey without making it look like they were together. She wondered how long he would give her before he insisted on joining. If and when he did, she was hoping against hope that he would manage to restrain himself. She wanted to do this herself.

Arriving at her destination, she came to an abrupt stop. She needed to compose herself, to take a long, deep, cleansing breath before entering the poisonous confines of Aro Volturi's office. Closing her eyes, she tried to center herself, remembering that she was here for a reason, that she was the only one who had all the pieces of the puzzle.

Turning back one last time, her gaze caught Edward's. She gave a small smile, trying to express that she was ready for this. She wasn't sure whether she was trying to convince him or herself.

"Is Aro free?" Her legs moved her forward before she was even aware that she was ready. It was like her body was running on automatic.

"Yes, go on in." His secretary looked up at Bella momentarily, before glancing back at her monitor. Bella felt a slight sense of anti-climax. If this were a movie, people would be gathering around, cheering and clapping as she confronted the bad guy. Instead, his secretary was treating her like it was another mundane day, with another run of the mill visitor to see her boss.

Rolling her eyes at her own sense of drama, Bella pulled up her metaphorical big girl panties and walked through the doorway, into Aro's office. Gently closing the door behind her, she looked over to his desk to see the man himself seated behind it, glaring angrily at his monitor.

"Problems?" She had planned to let him speak first, to try and put him on the back foot. But she failed at the first hurdle, feeling the need to fill the silence with noise. Any noise.

"Production is down again," Aro growled, glancing up at her from his monitor. "It's time I went down to the floor and kicked some ass."

"I need to talk to you about something before you go." Bella's voice was firm, telling, not asking. She surprised herself with the strength in her tone of voice.

"Oh, yeah?"

"Can we sit down?" She gestured over at the conference table in his office. She wanted to be able to look him in the eye as she told him what she knew. She needed to see the expression on his face, to watch his body language as he realized he had finally been caught with his hand in the cookie jar.

Aro shrugged and walked over to sit with her at the table. "So what's this about?"

"I wanted to ask you about something." Her gaze was unwavering, though her legs were starting to shake under the table.

"What is it?" Aro frowned, looking at her closely. From the blank expression on his face it was clear to Bella that he suspected nothing. Whatever she was about to say—as soon as she worked out how to say it—was going to come as a complete shock to him.

In her opinion it really couldn't happen to a more deserving guy.

"I found James' report in your drawer." Deciding to keep things simple, she didn't mention the leaks from her anonymous source. She glanced up at him, waiting for his response, watching as his eyebrows rose until they formed a single, bushy, line. He was silent. For once in his life, and at the most inopportune moment for Bella, he had finally found his vocal filter.

It seemed she was breaking all the rules now; she decided that she might as well continue with her accusations.

"I think it was your plan all along to close down Fairhaven and blame it on me." She stopped short suddenly, realizing that to show him too much of her hand too early, would give him too much of an advantage.

Aro stared right back at her, his eyes dark and narrow, his lips pressed into a thin, grim, slash, as he slowly shook his head from side to side.

"Do you have a career suicide wish?" he spat, his face contorting into a mask of contempt. "You're completely fucking paranoid. I'm calling James Hunter."

He stood abruptly and swung around, his chair making an ear-splitting sound as it scraped across the tiled floor. Bella's heart started to beat hard against her ribcage, her limbs beginning to shake in anticipation of his next move.

"Feel free to call him." She remained at the table, cool and composed "I've got a few questions I'd like to ask him, too."

"Questions?" Aro's head snapped back, his appraisal of her turning into a gaze of pure malevolence. She felt a bead of sweat forming on her forehead, slowly rolling down towards the bridge of her nose. She realized she was wringing her hands, and quickly pulled them apart, not wanting Aro to sense her nervousness.

"Yes. Quite a lot of questions, actually. For example, I'm quite interested to find out how long you, James and Tanya have been working on this little plan."

"Plan?" Aro barked out a humorless laugh. "Oh, Bella, you're fucking delusional. James warned me that you were unstable. I should have listened to him." He paused, letting his words sink in, as Bella remained mute. "I want you out of the factory. Now." He walked towards her, his body language indicating that one way or another, he was intending to crush her.

"It's not _your_ factory." Bella hissed, holding herself poker-straight in the face of Aro's offensive. "And I have evidence of your plans."

That stopped him in his arrogant tracks. "Evidence? There is no fucking evidence, Bella, because there is no conspiracy."

There was silence again. Bella stared at the window, rain was spotting against the dirty glass, making clean, tiny rivulets on the dusty pane. Her breathing was under control, but she still felt edgy, as if she was the one being ambushed.

Aro's stance softened, as his voice took on a conciliatory tone. "Bella. This is me. You _know_ me. We've been working together for a while now. Come and sit down, lets sort this out." It sounded like he was pacifying an angry child. She tore her eyes away from the wet and dirty window, back to his face.

The hackles rose on the back of her neck. She didn't like it when Aro was angry, but _this _Aro—the faux sweet one—she absolutely despised.

"Perhaps you could tell me about the pension fund, and the loan it made to HLA." She released her ace. It was time to dive deep into the murky pool. Aro clearly wasn't going to give anything away, that much was becoming clear. And the strain of keeping things inside became too much for Bella. So much for goddamned strategies.

The office was suddenly quiet, except for the harsh sound of Bella's shallow breathing, and the noise in her ears, of the blood rushing through her veins. She could hardly bring herself to look at Aro, knowing that his response would be something to fear. And she realized she was all alone in the office, with a dangerous, and quite possibly psychopathic, son of a bitch.

The thought hit her quite hard.

She glanced over her left shoulder, calculating how many strides it would take her to get to the office door. Too many, it would appear; Aro's legs were much longer than hers, and despite being older, he could easily overpower her.

Was it time to call out to Edward? She knew he would be somewhere nearby. He trusted Bella—he'd told her as much—but he sure as hell didn't trust Aro.

Just the thought that Edward was near lent her an air of confidence. She didn't need him in here just yet. There was still more that she wanted to discuss.

"You see, what I'm finding hard to understand is that you really thought you could get away with it. Did you honestly believe that once the factory had closed, nobody would notice that the pension fund was short of twenty million dollars?"

She could tell from the twitch on his face that Aro was thinking. Planning. Working out what his next move should be.

"And do you know what else I think, Aro? I think you are well and truly fucked. What you've done isn't only immoral, it's illegal. There's a special place for people like you in the ninth circle of hell. And I can't wait to see you go there."

He was mute and unmoving. Bella suddenly felt exhausted, completely spent from their encounter, her legs suddenly feeling so weak that she wondered how much longer they would continue to hold up her body.

And she wanted him to respond, she didn't have anything else to give.

He was close enough for her to see the deep, craggy, wrinkles that lined his face. They were particularly prominent between his eyes at the top of the bridge of his nose. His mouth was turned downwards, but his eyes continued his harsh, unwavering appraisal of her. Then he finally broke the silence.

"What do you want, Bella?" His voice was low, but she didn't hear any hint of resignation in his tone.

"Nothing. I don't want anything from you," she replied with contempt. "I just wanted to see your face before I call the police and give them my evidence."

There was a certain excitement in seeing Aro's reaction; like a reward for her anticipation. But there was fear too; anxiety about what he was going to do next. It seemed sensible to remain cautious. If the man could steal a huge amount of money from unsuspecting workers and pensioners, well then he was pretty much capable of anything.

"You're calling the police?" He repeated her words. "And when James is arrested, have you considered what will happen to you?"

"Are you asking me to keep my mouth shut so I don't lose my job?" Bella wanted to laugh. Did he really think she believed he would protect her?

"I'm telling you not to do it. You really don't know what kind of hell you'll be unleashing if you go against me." The sky outside darkened as the storm continued, reflecting the atmosphere inside the office.

"You can't threaten me." Bella tried to keep her voice steady, despite feeling like her heart was stuffed halfway up her throat. "I'm not scared of you."

"Well, you should be," Aro hissed, moving even closer to her, breathing heavily out of his mouth as he took hold of her wrist and started to squeeze it. "You can do this the easy way, or you can do this the hard way, but there's no chance on earth I'm going to let you call in the police."

"You're hurting me." She grabbed at his hand, trying to get him to release her. "Let go."

His lips curled up in a malign grin, his fingers flexing as he started to squeeze harder. She could feel the thin bones in her wrist start to grind against each other painfully as his hand compressed them. The intense pain made her gasp. She stared at him in confusion. What the hell was he thinking?

"Get the fuck off me!" This time she shouted, hoping that Edward was still outside, ready to intervene as he said he would. Any more pressure from Aro and her wrist bones would crumble like a very old wall.

As the words left her mouth, there was a commotion outside the office. The door opened, swinging back until it hit the wall with a loud thwack, and a small dusting of plaster fell down, like soft snowflakes, to the floor.

Aro's head snapped up, glancing behind her, then sneering as Edward ran in. Closely followed by Aro's secretary.

"He just ran straight past me. Do you want me to call security or…." Her words tailed off as she saw the way that Aro was holding Bella's wrist, and then noticed the intense look of pain that had crossed her face.

"Take your hands off her." Edward strode towards Aro, his height giving him an advantage as he towered over the factory director. His face was a mask of concentration and anger, as he approached them. He barely even glanced at Bella as he moved.

"Ah, Mr. Cullen. I wondered how long it would take you to arrive." Aro's lips curled, and he released Bella's wrist. Bella, stepping back from Aro, was relieved at the sudden respite in pain, although a throbbing ache remained like a tender bracelet around her wrist.

"You bastard." Edward put his hand on Aro's chest and started to push. Bella was behind him now, and could see that the muscles in his back tightening beneath the thin membrane of his shirt, as if he was getting ready to pounce. Tension was radiating from his body, and suddenly she was afraid about what Edward might do, what he might be getting into.

"Edward…" she said his name quietly, hoping to divert his attention from his desire to inflict physical harm.

But it was like he was in another world, a world which contained just Aro Volturi and himself. And in this domain, Edward was representing thousands of Detroit Motors workers, and pensioners. The thousands of people whose lives would be ruined by the actions of Aro Volturi.

"Fuck you, Cullen!" Aro unexpectedly pushed back at Edward, causing him to stumble slightly, his feet tripping over themselves as he stepped backwards. Bella, sensing that the fight was moving towards her, retreated to the doorway, glancing over her shoulder to see Aro's secretary call security and request backup.

"I'm going to chew you up and spit you out, you insignificant piece of shit." Aro continued his onslaught of Cullen, oblivious to the fact that his opponent had twenty years and five inches on him. "Did you think that just by screwing Bella like a two-dollar whore your job would be saved?"

Bella gasped at his words. How long had he known about their relationship? And was he going to use it against them?

She didn't even think about the implications of him calling her a whore until it was too late.

There was a loud cracking noise as Edward's fist made contact with Aro's jaw. The impact of the blow sent the older man backwards, staggering towards the back wall of his office before he slumped against it, his back slowly sliding down to the ground.

Edward walked forward, pursuing Aro, even though he was down, and Bella's heart stopped momentarily as she considered the fact that he might just go too far. His biceps had enough strength to kill a man; she knew how strong he was from all the times he had held her in his arms, when he carried her up the stairs or took her against the wall.

She was aware that she should intervene, but it was like watching a train wreck. And a small part of her was pleased to finally see Aro down on the floor, where he belonged. His comeuppance was long overdue, and seeing him collapsed on the floor, with no dignity or pride left, was somehow more satisfying than having to wait until any trial.

But it was uncomfortable too, watching the man she loved beating up somebody else to protect her honor.

_The man she loved?_

Bella froze in her tracks, unable to move while the implications of those words started to take hold of her brain. She loved him. And she'd do anything for him, to protect him.

And right now, that involved stopping him from being up on a murder charge.

"Edward!" She shouted louder now. The muscles in his back shifted in response to her words, his head turned as he looked up at her through his eyelashes, his confused expression showing his surprise that she was even in the room.

Aro took advantage of Edward's momentary distraction and hooked his feet around Edward's calves, bringing her protector to the ground with a loud thud. And it was like having to walk on fire, moving over towards them, to try to break things up. Because she knew that she was going to get hit, and she knew that it was going to hurt. But she needed this to end.

"Stop it!" She was shouting at both of them now, but neither man paid any attention as the fight on the floor escalated, with neither of them seeming to have the advantage. Her fists were curled tightly at her side as she tried to work out how to separate them without getting hurt.

Then five security guards barreled in. The room was filled with the tinny noise of voices across hand-held radios, the shouting of the guards, and the responses of Aro and Edward as they were pulled apart. As a guard pulled Edward up, she could see that he had a cut just above his eye, and it was bleeding profusely.

She felt a soft hand on her shoulder.

"Come out here, dear." Aro's secretary gently pulled her away from his office. She tried to resist, she wanted to be with Edward, wanted to look after him. Bella felt like yelling at the guards, telling them that it wasn't his fault, but she wasn't sure that right now they would believe anything she had to say.

"I need to stay in there." Bella was babbling now.

"The best thing you can do is let those men do their jobs. I'm not deaf; I heard what was going on in there. But you need to let the authorities sort this out." The secretary gave Bella a gentle smile, offering her a chair as they waited it out. "Does your wrist hurt?"

Bella had all but forgotten about her own injury in the light of Edward's much more serious wounds. She looked down at her thin arm, at the red band that had appeared just above her hand.

"It's okay, I think. It burns a little, but it isn't broken." She rubbed absentmindedly at the reddened skin there. One of the guards had closed the door to Aro's office, and she was desperate to know what was going on inside.

Behind her, a crowd had gathered, alerted by the shouting and the large contingent of security guards rushing past their offices. Glancing across the familiar faces, she saw Jasper trying to push his way through them. He looked at Bella, his eyebrows dipped in concern.

"What's going on?" he asked quietly, when he made it through the crowd. Bella sighed in relief at the sight of a friendly face, and she felt herself start to cry. Unexpectedly, she found herself throwing her arms around him, looking for comfort wherever she could find it.

"Bella?" He held her uncomfortably, in the way that a co-worker would respond to the over-emotional response of a fellow employee. "Are you okay?"

Taking hold of her shoulders, he held her at arm's length, so that he could focus on her face. Bella wiped at the tears that were now spilling out of her eyes, her whole body starting to shake in response to the massive adrenalin rush that was coursing through her veins.

"I'm okay," she confirmed quietly, trying to form a small smile on her lips. "I found out that Aro has been defrauding the pension fund, and I confronted him." She wondered if she should really be telling Jasper about this. After all, he was the financial director for Fairhaven; surely he should be aware of everything that was going on in the ledgers? Could he be complicit in this fraud?

But then she thought, he had no connection whatsoever to the pension fund. Sure, if twenty million had disappeared from Fairhaven's ledgers, he should have known. But he wasn't a trustee of the fund; he didn't sit on the administration committee. There was no reason for him to have any knowledge of Aro's schemes.

His glasses were slipping down his nose. Bella reached out a hand to push them back up for him. He flinched momentarily at the closeness of her hand, before giving her a small smile of gratitude.

"You need to get out of here. Come back to my office," he cajoled, aware of all the eyes in the crowd of onlookers, staring at them both with interest.

"I want to wait for Edward."

"The police have been called. I'm pretty sure that Cullen and Volturi will be spending the rest of the day at the station." He appeared slightly surprised at her wish to stay with the Union Leader, but, wisely, did not comment.

"The police?" Bella repeated, wincing at the thought of Edward being arrested. "I need to speak with them, I need to tell them…"

"Bella!" Jasper admonished her, stopping her short. "Let's talk about this in my office. You can speak with them later."

Bella found her feet obeying Jasper's command, even if the rest of her was desperate to stay outside the office and wait for Edward to emerge. But this was deeper now, more vital than her need to be with her boyfriend, more important than her wish to see Aro's face to make sure that he was hurting more than Edward was.

Now she needed to talk. And Jasper was offering to listen.

So they walked to his office, pushing their way through the crowd of workers who were staring at them with open mouths. In the distance she could hear the sounds of the factory, the lines still running. This was the difference between those who wore blue collars and those who wore white; those in white had the luxury to stop and become onlookers when something interesting occurred.

As they walked into Jasper's room, he pulled out a chair and Bella sat down abruptly, feeling suddenly grateful to take the weight off her feet.

"Thank you." She looked up at Jasper as he pulled a chair up beside her. His face was deadly white, as he looked down at the livid red mark across her wrist.

"Bella, I owe you an apology."

Well, that surprised her. What on earth did Jasper have to apologize for? She looked up at him in shock.

"Sorry?"

"No, that's what I'm trying to say." He laughed bitterly. "It all seemed like such a good idea. I knew that something was going on, but I was too weak to do anything. I didn't want to risk my job, I didn't want to push my head above the parapet."

"You knew about the pension fund?" she whispered, staring at him incredulously.

"Yes." He shook his head, looking like he was disgusted with himself. "I knew about the fund and Aro's intentions and still I did nothing. In fact, I did worse than nothing. I sent you hints and tips to try and make you reveal everything. I expected an outsider, an unsuspecting woman, to do my dirty work for me." Jasper's face screwed up, as if he was in pain. "I hate myself. I'm so angry about my lack of guts, about my complete cowardice in the face of this problem. I just can't lose my job, my sister is sick, she has no insurance. Without my salary I can't pay for her medical bills."

"It was you." The words came out as a whisper. "You sent me the memo and the email, you're the one who texted me."

Jasper didn't reply, just nodded and looked down at his feet.

"But why? Why didn't you do anything about it?"

"At first, I thought they were just trying to close the factory. I didn't want to end up with nothing. If I had said anything, I would have been sacked. But then I saw the pension fund details, and I realized that it wasn't just a small conspiracy. We've all been paying into that fund for years, Bella, heck my parents are both Fairhaven pensioners."

"But now _I'm _going to get sacked." She couldn't get her head around it. The coward had known what was going on, but instead of whistle blowing, he had let her— an outsider— take the fall.

"I am so sorry, Bella. I'll do whatever it takes to sort this out. I'll speak with your bosses, I'll tell them that it was all my fault."

Bella laughed bitterly. "My boss was involved in the whole fucking thing. I don't think he's going to listen to you."

Jasper slumped in his chair, putting his head in his hands, running his fingers through his light blond hair. "I don't know what to do, Bella. How to make it right? I was prepared today, ready to expose it all. I thought that maybe I was being too cryptic for you. I couldn't understand why you hadn't found out about the pension fund already."

"You _were_ too cryptic. It took me a while to find out what you wanted me to know. I came close to missing it all together." Her anger towards him was starting to dissipate. She was still aggrieved that he had set her up, rather than having the courage to expose Aro himself. But in front of her was a broken man, and it touched her. Perhaps because she had been broken too.

Jasper looked up at her, noticing the change in her tone. "I don't believe that. I'm not sure I've met anybody with the ability to unravel things like you."

Bella gave him a small smile in response to his compliment, then slumped back in her chair as she thought of Edward, and remembered that things were far from over.

"What do you think will happen next?" she asked Jasper, hoping for a small insight into the workings of Fairhaven.

"I'm pretty sure that Aro and Edward will be taken to the station, if only to cool them off. But from what you said, they were both as bad as each other. I can't believe that any charges will come out of that.

Bella winced as she recalled the charges that were being laid at Jacob Black, after her encounter with him some weeks ago. Only this morning she had received a voicemail from the DA's office asking her to call them back. But she had ignored it, preferring to concentrate on her impending confrontation with Aro. She had been surprised to receive it, having been advised by the police that she may not hear anything for a few months.

Pulling herself back to the present problem, she looked back at Jasper. "I need to speak with the police."

"We'll do it together." Jasper smiled at her, this time in reassurance. "I have some evidence, and you have some evidence, and together I think we can bring the whole house of cards tumbling down."

There was a knock on the door. Aro's secretary pushed it open and looked over at Bella and Jasper, sitting in front of his desk.

"The police would like to speak with you in Aro's office."

"Are Edward and Aro still there?" Bella's heart rate began to accelerate again. It was amazing what the mere thought of Edward could do to her body.

"They've been taken to the station. And it looks like Mr. Cullen may need some stitches. I'm sure they'll let you see him later." She winked at Bella. She winked? Maybe she was starring in an episode of Punk'D.

They rose and walked out, Jasper taking a moment to remove a file from his locked drawer. A file that, Bella presumed, had evidence of the high-level fraud that had been occurring. On reaching Aro's office they were introduced to two detectives, who asked them to sit down for a brief interview.

And as they sat, side by side at Aro's table, and answered all the questions that the two policemen were shooting at them, Bella couldn't help but think about Edward. How was he? Where was he? Was he in pain? Being without him felt like her right hand had been chopped off. It was painful, and disconcerting and most of all it was wrong.

Just wrong.


	24. Chapter 24

**A/N this chapter has been pre-read by SunflowerFran and SparrowNotes24. My lovely Beta, BelleDean, is on a much deserved break. I miss her, but couldn't stop myself from putting this out anyway. All mistakes, including my lack of patience, are down to me.**

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**CHAPTER 24 - Loose Threads**

The police had been questioning Bella and Jasper for two hours, going through the documents and ledgers that they had, occasionally requesting further information from the HR and finance departments. By the end, they were both flagging, despite the continuous stream of muddy brown coffee that Aro's secretary had plied them with throughout the session. Her body was feeling achy and uncomfortable, the brown plastic chair that she was sitting on was unforgiving, and she knew that her back would make her pay for it later.

And throughout the whole ordeal, a large part of Bella's mind was far away from Fairhaven. It was across town, in the precinct, or the hospital, or wherever the hell they had taken Edward. She was trying not to think of the pain he must be in, or the anger that might still be coursing through his veins. Did he hate her for causing this, for being the one who had to take everything on her own shoulders until the big reveal? Or was he thinking of her, missing her like she was missing him?

Her thoughts were visceral. She loved him. And this new feeling was leaving her exposed and she both liked and hated it. Liked, because to feel about somebody in that way made her feel good, as if their connection was made stronger. Hated, because she wasn't sure if her feelings were reciprocated. If love was the answer, she wondered, then what the hell was the question?

She was leaving herself wide open to pain, and she didn't like being so vulnerable. She preferred to guard her heart, lest anybody break it. She had seen Renee go through the pain of heartbreak enough times to know that it wasn't a pleasant emotion.

"We may need to call you back for more questioning, once we're further into the investigation." The detective continued, bundling up the evidence as he prepared to leave the office.

"Of course, I'll be happy to. Although I'm not sure where I'll be in a couple of weeks." She was absolutely certain that she wouldn't be welcome here at Fairhaven any more.

"Well, just keep in touch and let us know your contact details if you move." He gave her his card and dismissed them both.

"You okay?" Jasper glanced at her as they exited the room, his hand gently squeezing her shoulder, in a sign of support.

"I think so. I'd like to find out where Edward is though."

"A couple of guys I know from High School joined the force, they may be able to give me some information. I can give them a call. In the meantime, go home, sit down and relax for a little while. You'll burn out if you're not careful."

The thought of home, or at least the rented apartment, was extremely appealing to Bella, right now. She couldn't wait to be out of Fairhaven, to be away from the curious stares as she walked down the corridor. "Will you call me if you hear anything?"

"Of course I will. I'll call you if I don't hear of anything as well," Jasper reassured her. Looking back at the mop-haired accountant through narrowed eyes, she wondered if she was thawing towards him. Even after everything he had done, he was still more of a man that Aro Volturi or James Hunter would ever be. Why was it so difficult to work out the good guys from the bad?

Rather than walking through the main factory floor, walked add their way out of the office block and around the back of the building, trying to avoid any more questioning stares. But as they made a somewhat stealthy escape, at least one person had spotted them.

"Bella! Wait up." It was Emmett McCarty, running out of the side door to catch up with them. "Hey, slow down!"

Bella winced. The last thing she wanted to do was break the bad news to Emmett. Oh God, should she be calling Edward's mom as well? She still wasn't sure of her role in this relationship, there were so many mixed messages going on. Once again, the contrasts between her personal and professional life were causing her whiplash. She needed a handbook for this stuff.

"Do you want me to get rid of him?" Jasper whispered. Bella almost laughed out loud at the mental image of the thin, bookish, Jasper, trying to fight with Emmett. That was not a scene she was particularly desperate to watch.

"It's okay. I'll speak with him. There's no need for you to follow."

"Well, if you're sure," Jasper's forehead wrinkled in a frown. She gave him what she thought was a reassuring smile, waving him back towards the steel factory door.

"I'm sure. I'll be fine." Then she turned to look at Emmett, who had finally caught up. His face was flushed from the sudden exertion of running, his breath harsh.

"Bella. What the fuck's going on?"

It was so strange. Just looking at Emmett felt like a river of relief was washing over her. He was standing in front of her, all brawny muscles and dimpled cheeks. Like a cool glass of lemonade on a hot day, his presence had the ability to soothe and reassure.

"Edward and Aro were in a fight."

"A fight? What the fuck?" Emmett was incredulous, and his response made Bella smile just a little. It was proof that Edward had kept his promise to her, that he hadn't revealed his knowledge to Emmett. Evidence that trust was sometimes a good thing.

"It's a long story, Emmett, and I suspect that Edward would prefer to be the one to tell it to you. All I can tell you right now is that Aro tried to hurt me, and then Edward intervened and hit him."

Emmett put his hand out and stopped Bella from walking. "Aro hurt you? Why? Where? I mean… are you okay?"

God he was sweet, like an overprotective teddy bear. She wanted to bundle him up and take him home with her to bed. In an extremely platonic way. The thought made her want to giggle.

"Just a skin burn," she shrugged, "Edward was worse, he had a bad cut on his face. And then he was arrested."

"Arrested?" Emmett's voice rose up an octave. Bella was sure it couldn't be good for him. "Fucking hell, I can't believe this. Did they take Aro too?"

"Oh yes," Bella chuckled bitterly, "he gave as good as he got."

By this time, they'd reached her car. Bella leaned on the door, looking up at Emmett who was fiddling with his hands, wringing them together as he listened to her words. She could hear the faint sounds of production emanating from the shop floor a hundred yards away; life seemingly went on without her.

"Jasper is going to try and find out what's happening. I've got to go back to my apartment;I'm not really welcome here anymore."

"Why's that? What the hell has happened? Why have Edward and Aro been arrested and why the fuck have you been banished?" Emmett was starting to look frustrated at the lack of information. And Bella wanted to share with him, but it was Edward's call, whether he confided in his friend or not, and she didn't want to be the one to come between them. She bit the side of her lip with an incisor tooth, and shook her head.

"Edward will be out soon, I'm sure. He'll be able to tell you about everything." With that she leaned forward and gave Emmett a hug. For a moment he stood still, as if he was shocked at her sudden show of affection. Then, throwing his arms around her back, he squeezed her to him, almost lifting her feet off the ground with the strength of his embrace. He was making her breathless, and not in a good way.

"Hey, put me down you great oaf," she complained, swatting at his hands as he lifted her further off the ground.

Smirking slightly, he put her back on the ground, then cupped her face gently with his big hands. She was surprised at how soft they were.

"Seriously, Bella, if you need anything, just call. I don't know what's going on, but I know that Edward trusts you, and I do too." With that, he leaned down and kissed the top of her head, and Bella almost exploded at his show of kindness.

In spite of all the douche-baggery she had encountered in Fairhaven, a few people stood out of her experiences like stars shining in the dark sky. Emmett was at the top of the list.

"Thank you. I needed that." She could feel herself choking, so she scrambled into the car and closed the door softly behind her. It wouldn't do for him to see her overcome, and she really needed to get home and let it all out.

As she pulled up to her apartment building, there was a shiny, black, Ford SUV parked in her space. Frowning, she drove over to the visitors section and parked her own car there. It was a longer walk to the apartment block from this section, but at least she had found a vacant space.

Walking past her allocated parking on the way back to her apartment, she peered through the tinted dark windows of the SUV. To her surprise, a man was sitting in there, tapping away on his iPhone.

Noticing her staring in, he gave her a slight wave, before pressing the button to lower the window. He was a small, rounded, man, with a shaved, bald dome of a head, all shiny under the lights of the car interior. She didn't recognize him at all.

"Isabella Swan?" He questioned, leaning over towards where she was standing.

"Who's asking?" After everything that had happened today, she was wary. This could be somebody from Detroit Motors, or the press, or even a Grayson Brown representative. She really needed to guard her words right now.

"I'm Collin Littlesea, I'm with the DA's office. I've been trying to get hold of you. I really need to speak to you about the Jacob Black case. Is it possible to find somewhere private to talk?"

"Oh." Bella closed her eyes for a moment, wondering if the guy had any idea of how inappropriate his timing was. "I need to see your I.D. first."

She wasn't taking any risks today. Either the guy flashed his card, or he was out of luck. She was secretly hoping it was the latter.

Taking a good look at his identity card, she could see nothing wrong and she let Collin follow her up to the apartment. It seemed empty and cold as she walked in, the heating hadn't had a chance to warm things up yet. She shivered slightly as she took off her coat, hanging it in the hallway cupboard, before offering to take Collin's coat as well.

"Can I get you a coffee?"

"No, I won't stay long. Could we possibly sit down?" He indicated the sitting area in her apartment, and they both walked over and sat on the leather sofas. Bella sat on the corner, facing Collin as he went through some papers. Her leg started jiggling as she waited, causing vibrations to course up her body.

He cleared his throat before speaking. "Ah, as you know, I've been given this case to review. And, although I understand that Jacob Black really did a number on you that night, there are very few witnesses to back this up."

Bella instantly bristled, sitting up straighter as he talked. It was as if he was saying that he didn't believe her. She knew he was doing his job, and she knew that she would be saying the same thing if she was in the same position. But it still made her angry.

"You have Edward Cullen's testimony."

"Ah, yes. But we'd be very unwilling to put him on the stand. First of all, he assaulted the accused just as much as Mr Black assaulted you. And second of all, I believe that you are in some sort of relationship with Mr Cullen. The defense would have a field day with that."

Jesus H Christ. Was there anybody in the State of Michigan who didn't know that they were having a relationship? She wasn't sure which pissed her off more, the fact that the prosecutor knew about them, or that he was casting aspersions on Edward's character.

"So where does that leave things?" She already had a sense of what was coming. The DA's office didn't make house visits for no reason. She had been advised by the Victim Support officer that before any kind of plea bargain was struck, she would have to be consulted. And here they were.

Collin squirmed on the leather sofa. Bella wondered if he felt more comfortable holed up in his office, researching obscure pieces of law, than dealing with victims and perpetrators, or even people in general. She certainly had some sympathy for him if that was the case. She longed for her own ivory tower, without people to complicate things.

"Well, we'd like to seek your opinion on the possibility of negotiating a plea bargain with Mr Black. I believe that the best option would be to agree for him to plead guilty to one count of Aggravated Assault." Collin looked up at Bella, apprehension written all over his face as he wondered what her response would be.

"That's a misdemeanour, right?" Bella queried. Her knowledge of criminal law was sketchy, she was much better at the labor side of things.

"That's correct, Ma'am." Collin nodded in agreement, as he continued to look at her cautiously. His hands were plucking at the papers on his lap, in a nervous rhythm.

Bella thought for a moment. Collin was asking for her opinion, but she was totally clueless as to how she felt about the whole situation. In the craziness of the past few weeks she had supressed her feelings about the incident. For the most part, she would have preferred to keep it that way.

"And I won't have to testify?" She queried, trying to see the positives to this proposal.

"No, and I don't think that we can realistically get anything else to stick in this case. I understand from your interview notes, that Mr Black attempted to sexually assault you."

"He tried, but he failed." Bella replied through gritted teeth, not willing to think about those moments again. Where was Collin going with this?

"Well, we've looked into the possibility of prosecuting him for fourth degree CSC, but that, too, is a misdemeanour. And it would be much harder to prove than aggravated assault." Collin shrugged, while trying to give Bella a smile of reassurance. "It's a he-said, she-said situation. I hope you don't think that means I don't believe you. I am just trying to be realistic here."

"I understand what you are saying," Bella replied, dryly. "What do you think the sentence will be?"

"I am expecting to negotiate a fine with Mr Black's defence attorneys. His record is squeaky clean, he's not going to be given the harshest sentence for a first time offense."

Bella sighed. She was so tired of all of this, of the law being an ass, of people getting off relatively free. And all the while Edward was cooling his heels at the precinct. She just wanted to shrug it all off and walk away. She glanced over to the clock in the kitchen. It was only 5:30PM, but she was so ready for the day to be over.

"Okay. I understand." Her voice was resigned. "What do you need me to do? Do I sign something?"

Collin brought out some papers and passed them over to her. She read through each one, then put ink to paper, confirming that she had been consulted, prior to any plea bargain being agreed upon.

And it was strange, but signing those papers, it was like something was being lifted off her, and taken away. She was surprised at her own reaction, as if she should be more resentful of the wheels of justice falling down a ditch. But in the scheme of things, this was just something she'd rather forget. Jacob Black deserved to be punished, and he was getting away with it, but she wasn't going to let that fall down on her. It was his burden to carry, not hers.

And she had to think about the future. Her future. For the first time in her professional career, she really didn't know where she was going to go. This thought haunted her like a giant bogeyman hiding in her closet. She was apprehensive, though she couldn't quite articulate why this was so. And her stomach was churning, growling, making her feel sick.

As Collin left the apartment, she closed the door softly behind him. Looking at the living area of the apartment laid out before her, she sighed at the emptiness. The silence was deafening.

How long would it take Jasper to get back to her with some information? She was inclined to call him herself, and see if he knew anything. If she had the details of the police station that he had been taken to, at least then she could drive over and try to find out in person what was had to be better than just sitting. Just waiting.

She was just opening up her purse to look for her cell phone, when it began to ring. Digging through the half chewed pens, old lipsticks, and other detritus that made up the contents of her purse,she found her Blackberry right at the bottom. Punching the green button, she quickly accepted the call.

"Hello?"

"Bella?"

That wasn't Jasper.

"Angela?" Bella's eyebrows rose up, as she wondered why Grayson Brown's office manager would be calling her. Had the news spread westwards that fast?

"Oh thank God you're there. Mr Grayson has just popped down from his ivory tower to see me. All hell has broken loose here, what the hell is going on?"

"Mr Grayson came to see you? What about?" Bella frowned, as she dropped her purse to the floor. Richard Grayson was one of the two directors of Grayson Brown, rarely seen or heard from,outside of the annual Company Party. For him to actually make his way personally down to see anybody in the main office was unheard of.

"Well, first of all he spent about an hour in James's office, and I can tell you that it wasn't pretty. None of us dared get close enough to hear what they were actually shouting, but eventually Grayson came out and walked straight over to my desk. I was so scared I nearly knocked over my coffee in my haste to close down Facebook."

Bella almost laughed at Angela's hyperbole.

"What did he want?" Bella suspected that this was the part that was relevant to her, though she had a pretty good idea what Grayson and James had been shouting about.

"He made me book you on the next flight to Seattle. You need to move your ass to get to the airport. I've emailed you the details." There was a pause, as it sounded like Angela was swallowing a mouthful of coffee. "Bella, what the hell have you been doing?"

"What do you mean?" Bella liked Angela, but not enough to spill her guts to.

"I mean that Grayson's face looked like the Pacific Northwest on a stormy day. He said, and I quote, 'tell her that under no circumstances should she speak to anybody else about this.'"

Bella collapsed onto the sofa, her head falling back and her eyes closing. This day really was going to count as the worst one of her life. She had no choice but to get on the next plane to Seattle, or lose her job. It didn't matter that her boyfriend was currently AWOL, presumed incarcerated, or that she had no idea if Aro was going to face any charges for what he had done. And it sounded like the police had not been in to see James yet.

She began to fear that everything would be brushed under the carpet. What if they got away with it, despite her best attempts?

"I can't talk about it now, Ang. But tell Grayson that I'll be there." She sighed in resignation. She had worked too hard over the years to give up her career without a fight. She may have been banished from Fairhaven, but was managing to hang on to her job at Grayson Brown by the skin of her teeth. And she wanted to keep it that way.

"They want you in the office tomorrow by 8:00 AM." Angela's voice now sounded fuller and more rounded, like her mouth was full of food. "You have to go straight up to Grayson's office."

"Okay," Bella replied. There really wasn't anything else to say. She was pretty sure that whatever happened tomorrow, she wasn't going to be receiving a hero's reception. "I'll be there."

Ending the call, she threw her cell phone back into her purse and walked out to the closet in the hallway to retrieve a suitcase. It was so light, when it was empty, and she carried it into her bedroom with ease, swinging the case onto the bed. She stood, just staring at it for a moment, as she wondered what on earth she should pack.

Something, nothing, everything? She was miserably unaware of what the next few days would bring. If she ended up jobless, then there would be no real reason to come back to Michigan, so common sense would dictate that she pack everything.

But her relationship with Edward defied common sense. And every other type of logic that she possessed. Yet, the tie was there, and she had very little doubt in her mind that one way or another, she would be coming back to Michigan. It was where Edward was, and he was what she wanted.

She decided to take enough clothes to see her through for a week. She knew she had some older clothes and toiletries still stashed at the apartment she rented with Alice, and if needed, she could use those.

And then? Then she would need to talk with Edward. If only she knew exactly what was going to happen tomorrow, then she could start to plan. But she didn't know if she would have a job, let alone what that job would be. Everything was up the air, and she was way outside of her comfort zone.

As she began to throw a random selection of lingerie into the case, she could hear her phone ringing again. Dropping the clothes where she stood, she ran as fast as she could so that she could answer it in time. As luck would have it, she managed to snatch her phone out of her purse in time.

"Bella?" She was surprised to hear Emmett's voice emanating from the earpiece.

"Emmett, thank God. Is there any news?" She was still breathless, trying to catch some air in her lungs as she spoke. It made her sound like a banshee.

"He should be released within the next hour or so, according to Jasper's sources. We're going down to the precinct now. Do you want us to pick you up on the way?"

Damn, damn, damn. Yes, she did want them to pick her up. But to stand any chance of catching her flight, she needed to be on her way to Detroit McNamara within the next fifteen minutes. What would Edward think when he was finally released, only to find that she had left the state? Was he going to think that it was because of something that he did?

"I can't go. I'm so sorry Emmett, I have to catch a flight back to Seattle." She could feel despair start to wash over her, like a new tide spreading over a pebbled beach.

"Seriously? You're leaving?" His voice was full of disdain, and Bella knew what he was thinking. He was making the assumption that she was skipping out on Edward, making a run for it while she could.

"I've been recalled by my employers. They want me in for a meeting first thing tomorrow." Her stomach dropped at that thought, and she tried to banish it to the back of her mind. She'd think about her career on the plane, for now she needed to concentrate on Edward, and trying not to lose what little of her sanity she had left.

"Oh shit. Are you going to lose your job?"

"I'm not sure Emmett." She was surprised at how level her voice was, despite the tears starting to form in her eyes. She wasn't going to break down yet, she was going to keep it going, keep things even.

"What should I tell Edward? He's going to be so pissed to find you gone."

The tears were starting to spill over now. She could just imagine what would be going through his mind, when he found out that she wasn't there. And then for Emmett to have to tell him that she had left for Seattle. Jesus, she couldn't even begin to imagine what his reaction would be. She wasn't sure she wanted to.

"Tell him the truth. I'll call his mobile anyway. I have to be on the 8:30 PM flight. I don't have a choice."

A niggling voice inside her head was starting to insist that she did have a choice. And the one she was making might just be the wrong one. She shook her head, as if to chase it away.

"Shit, Bella. He's going to be in a fucking state."

"I know." Her voice was soft now. Quiet and despondent. Everything was fucked up again. The threads of the mess she had made were so tangled up that she had no idea of how to unweave them. "But I have to go, Emmett. I can guarantee that if I'm not in the Seattle office first thing tomorrow, then I won't have a job to go back to."

"Then go," he boomed out, like a command. "I'll explain to Ed, and I'll let him know that this isn't an easy thing you're doing. But you need to make sure you look after yourself. He'd have my balls if he thought I was letting you go into something dangerous."

"I will. Thank you Emmett."

"Bye Bella. Be safe."

"Goodbye." She ended the call.

Ten minutes later, the cab pulled up outside her apartment building. Getting out of the elevator, she pulled her small suitcase behind her, walking towards the white SUV with 'Metro Airport Taxi' emblazoned in blue, across the side of the car. The driver opened his door and got out, taking her suitcase and putting it in the trunk. He then opened the back passenger door for her to get in, closing it behind her.

She wondered what sort of world it was when the only men who opened the door for her seemed to be taxi drivers.

As he started up the engine, he looked back at her. "Detroit McNamara?"

"Yes please." She sank back into the seat, and clicked the metal tongue of her seatbelt into the plug next to her. Then suddenly, as if somebody else was taking over the movements of her body, she bolted straight upright.

"Actually, I need to make a little detour first." Flight or no flight, she couldn't just leave things like this. She gave him Edward's address and slumped backwards as he pulled away from the parking lot.

It only took ten minutes to get to Edward's house, but she was aware that it was ten minutes that she didn't really have. She'd already checked the flight times to Seattle, and if she missed this plane, the next one wouldn't be leaving until the next morning. And that would make her late for her morning meeting. Angela had made it patently clear that to be late for that meeting would cost Bella her job.

She texted Edward, wondering if he had even made it home yet, telling him that she was on her way. And if he hadn't made it home? Then she would have to either wait, or go straight to the airport without seeing him. At least nobody could tell her that she hadn't tried. Least of all herself.

It was rush hour, and the streets were busy. The night had come in, and Bella leaned her head against the cool, moist, car window, watching the streaks of light as they passed street lamps and cars, the oranges and whites and reds of the lights reminding her of childhood journeys.

When they pulled up outside Edward's house, she could see that he was back from the number of cars parked in his driveway. The tension in her muscles, that she didn't even realize was there, seemed to melt away. It was like she could breathe again properly for the first time today.

Before she could even undo her seatbelt, Edward flung open the front door to his house and ran out, down the tarmacked driveway, heading towards her cab. When he opened the takings e took her small hand in his, pulling her out, towards him.

"Jesus, I can't tell you how happy I am to see you." He was talking, and holding her, and peppering kisses all over her face, as the cold night air hit her skin. "When Emmett told me that you'd gone, I was about ready to punch somebody again."

Bella put her hands up to his cheeks, leaning back to look at him, to see, in the pool of light of the street lamp, exactly what damage Aro had done. His hair, as usual, was messy and awry, and there was bruising to his cheek, topped by a freshly sewn-up gash. She wanted to kiss it, to let him know how much she appreciated him, and his protection. But she wasn't sure how sore it was.

"Are you okay?" her gaze met his, she suddenly found herself trapped in those deep green pools as she spoke.

"I'm fine, Bella. No charges, very little blood. I'm okay." He had one hand cupped around her behind, pulling her body close against his. She was aware that they had an audience; one taxi driver plus Emmett and Jasper standing in the doorway of his house. All she really needed was his mother and a bucket of cold water and her life would be complete.

"But what about you? Emmett told me they've called you back to Seattle? Are you going to miss your plane?" His other hand was stroking her hair softly, enough to make her cheeks heat up with a fresh flush.

"I'll be okay. I'm hoping to take my luggage on as carry on. And I'll just have to push in line through security. I need to go in a minute though." It was taking all the strength she had not to just dismiss the taxi driver and go into Edward's house with him. She wanted to lie down with him, and just feel his skin against hers.

She wanted her happy place.

"Is your arm okay?" He leaned back from her and gently lifted her wrist, pulling back the sleeve of her coat and blouse to inspect it. Seeing the livid red mark circling it, he pulled her hand up to his mouth and made a trail of kisses right down from her palm to the inside of her wrist. The softness of his lips against her skin made her shiver in response.

"It looks worse than it is." The tone of her voice deepened, in a visceral response to his touch. Jesus, the way she was feeling she could just jump him in front of the whole neighbourhood. Not a good move when your job is on the line for those exact actions. She shook her head, as if to distance herself from her baser responses.

"I want to take you into my house and fuck you stupid." He was pulling her back to him now, his body hard and firm against hers. Every part of his body.

"Don't call me stupid," she joked, trying to move away, wanting to stay. The strength in his arms made the choice for her.

"You didn't say no to the rest though." His lips were finding hers again, moving in a sweeping motion from her neck, to her cheek, then crushing against hers. Bella's hands grabbed hold of his head, grasping onto his hair, pulling his face even closer to her. She wanted to kiss the hell out of him, to make this a lasting reminder.

Long moments passed, as they kissed, and embraced, and sighed into each others' mouths. And even before the cab driver beeped his horn, she knew it was time to leave. Everything was still so up in the air and she was finding it hard to pull herself away. But if she didn't, the one thing she needed to be up in the air would be well and truly grounded.

"I have to go," she murmured into his lips, pecking at them a final time before breaking away. "I'll call you when I get there."

"You better be calling me constantly." His head bowed into her hair, muffling his words as he spoke. "And please make me one promise. Do not go into a meeting with James Hunter. I won't be there to punch the motherfucker out."

"I promise." She felt her lips curl at his protectiveness. "I'm meeting the organ grinder, not the monkey. Apparently the CEO wants a personal audience."

"Do you know why?"

"I'm pretty sure he wants to fire my ass." She tried to smile as she said the words, but her voice turned into a sob, and she bit her lip to try and contain the feeling of despair that was threatening to wash over her. Edward leaned in, and put his lips against hers one more time.

"Whatever happens to you, you know I'm here. I'll be waiting, and I'll be wanting you. Make sure you come home to me."

As he said these words, she could feel her heart clenching, as if it was being squeezed up into her mouth. And regardless of what was awaiting her in Seattle, and what was going to happen with her job, there was one part of her that was wildly excited at the thought of Edward waiting for her. And that, just maybe, he could be her home.

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**A/N Thank you for reading. The next two chapters are written and waiting to be Beta'd. It looks like I'll need to write a final chapter to round things off. In the meantime, I am writing a new full length fic, called 'Fix You' which I will be posting in the New Year**


	25. Chapter 25

**A/N - This was beta'd by BelleDean, and pre-read by Sunflowerfran and SparrowNotes24. Thank you ladies. And if you have a little time on your hands, I have posted a prologue to a new story, called 'Fix You'. You can find it on my profile.  
**

* * *

**CHAPTER 25 - Soft Landings  
**

The Landing at Sea-Tac was bumpy. Bella was seated in the middle seat of her row, sandwiched tightly between an overweight older gentleman and a businesswoman in a black suit with a blouse buttoned up all the way, pinching the skin of her neck. The vibrations of the plane, as they came to a stop, made her teeth clatter together.

The white-haired man sitting next to her stretched widely, his arm brushing hers as he pushed it into the air. He had been invading her personal space for the entire journey, like an ever-encroaching glacier. She was way too polite to say anything, but tried to convey her displeasure in the way she moved away from him, huffing as she did so.

She hadn't checked her luggage, so was able to walk straight from the airplane to catch the Central Link train. As she walked through the main atrium, she was surprised at the number of people milling around so late in the evening in front of the large wall of glass that was the airport's main architectural feature. She was even more shocked to see that it wasn't raining.

She was home.

But it didn't feel the same. Like a rowboat that was adrift, she felt directionless, like she wasn't supposed to be here.

She wanted to go back right away. Wanted to be with him.

Edward. Just his name did things to her. Things that were tingly, and soft and made her smile. Even when he was being a violent, Neanderthal man. Maybe even especially then.

She switched her phone from flight-safe mode and, as soon as she received some reception, a barrage of alerts informed her that she had six missed calls, five unread texts and three voicemail messages waiting for her. All that was missing was the partridge in a pear tree.

Voicemail always won with her. She made the basic assumption that if somebody took the time and effort to open their mouth, they got the priority over those who just used their fingers. She smiled just slightly, as she wondered if this could be a metaphor for life.

She put the earpiece to her head so that she could listen to the message.

"Bella, I know we didn't really have a chance to say much tonight. But I wanted you to know that everything will be okay. I just want to talk to you, call me when you— "

The message cut off, and Bella quickly pressed a button to hear the next message.

"Shit, I hate leaving messages. I can never say things how I want to. Call me when you land, okay? Jasper's been filling me in on how things went with the police, and I've spent most of the evening talking with the Union. I want to —" Another cut-off. Bella rolled her eyes, and pressed for the next message.

It carried on in a similar tack.

"It's all going to be okay here. I just wanted to hear your voice. Call me, babe."

The text messages were pretty much in the same vein, well the three that Edward had written to her in the past hour. The other two were from Jasper and Emmett respectively, telling her to be careful and keep them informed.

She hit redial quickly, trying to call him, her heart beating as she thought about speaking with him again. But it went straight to voicemail. She left a brief message, asking him to call her back, telling him she had arrived safely. She hoped she had managed to disguise the disappointment in her voice.

Walking briskly to the light rail station, she held her breath as the winds howled down the walkway, whipping past her face and making her cheeks sting. To her left, the soaring pea of Mount Rainier, towering over Sea-Tac airport, dominated the skyline. As always, she found the rough beauty of the vista breathtaking.

Back at the apartment she shared with Alice Brandon, it seemed that some things hadn't changed during her absence. The front door was still hanging off its hinges, threatening to fall on her every time she turned her key to open the lock. And in the communal lobby, the old damaged coffee table was still completely full of mail for long-departed tenants, like the ghosts of roommates past.

Even the smell was the same. It was slightly musty, with the gentle aroma of damp in the air, and the sweet cloying smell of the plug-in air fresheners, placed by tenants in a futile attempt to disguise the dank odors.

But all this familiarity, this sameness, only seemed to underline the one feeling that was paramount in Bella's mind. Everything here might be unchanged, but _she_ was different. And as much as she loved Alice, and had loved her job and her life here in Seattle, she was feeling like a stranger in a strange land. Home was a few thousand miles to the East now, and this visit felt more like a business trip than a return of the prodigal.

The apartment was quiet when she entered. It was 11:00PM, and she assumed that Alice was in bed. In the excitement of the day, and the swiftness of the arrangements, she had forgotten to even alert her friend that she would be returning.

The fact that the sink was full of day-old dirty dishes and the living room looked like it had been hit by a megaton bomb, led her to believe that Alice was going to be very unhappily surprised to see that she'd returned.

Before thinking about any of that, she needed a coffee. Like many caffeine addicts, they may have run out of beer, they may have no food left in the house, but there was always a can of beans in the freezer. Bella and Alice needed coffee like they needed air in the morning.

Taking her coffee out with her to the fire escape, she lit a cigarette, and stared out into the cold, damp Seattle night. In the distance she could see the light of the skyscrapers, and wondered if it was more cost efficient to keep the lights on all night, rather than pay somebody to turn them off. She speculated that it would be better to put in some sort of program to switch them off at night. She smirked slightly to herself; even when it was near midnight, she somehow couldn't turn off her inner-consultant thoughts altogether.

When she had taken the last drag of her cigarette, she pressed the stub into a cool pool of water that had formed on the windowsill behind her, and climbed back into the apartment. Just as her feet hit the cool parquet floor, she looked up to see a hulking beast of a man standing in front of her.

"Fuck!" she shouted, her heart rate rising up until she felt it was going to fly out of her chest like a bat out of hell. "Who the hell are you?"

Allowing herself a closer look, she realized that he probably wasn't an intruder. Unless intruders these days liked to strip themselves naked and use Bella's favorite green towel to wrap around their waists. Their naked waists.

Ewww, she was never going to be able to use that towel again.

The stranger was about six foot two, all orange skin stretched over too-large muscle. His hair was sandy and long, hanging just below his shoulders. He reminded her of that guy who used to model for romance books in the 1990s; he was called something like Fabio.

"I'm Greg. A friend of Alice's." It was becoming clear. She could guess exactly the type of friend he was.

"I'm Bella. Her roommate." She gave him a small, tight, smile. She knew she had no right to be pissed off that Fabio's doppelgänger was invading her space. After all Alice wasn't a virgin, and Bella hadn't been in the apartment for a while now. "And that's my towel."

"Do you want it back?" He winked at her, as his hands moved down to his hips, as if he was going to whip the towel off of them. Bella stepped back in horror, shielding her eyes.

"No!" she squealed. "Really, you can keep it."

"Bella?" Alice's voice piped up from her bedroom door. Walking out towards the two of them, she was wrapping her dressing gown around her, knotting it with the sash-like belt. "Oh my God! Bella, what are you doing here?"

Alice's voice turned into a squeal as she launched herself at her friend, flying through the air like a vampire bat as she landed on Bella, all arms, legs and hugs.

"I'm just here for a couple of days. I need to go to a meeting at work." She decided not to say anything else. She didn't want to worry Alice, and she was aware that if she lost her job, she wouldn't be able to pay her own share of the rent. That would put them both in a tricky position.

"So short a time? What a shame. I see you've met Greg. Greg, this is Bella." Her words were coming out so fast that Bella was surprised that Alice's tongue didn't trip over. "Greg is visiting from Chicago. We're old friends."

Well, that made sense. Alice was originally from Chicago, and often felt homesick whenever she saw her hometown featured in a TV program. Having spent a winter in Michigan, Bella thought her friend was probably better off in the warmer, damper climes of Seattle.

"Hi Greg. I'd shake your hand but I think I know where it might have been," Bella said dryly, smiling widely at him to let him know she was joking. "It's a pleasure to meet you."

Greg smiled back, pulling Alice towards him in an embrace. "Any friend of Alice's is a friend of mine."

Despite his ludicrous hair, and his penchant for stealing household linens, Bella thought that she might just come to like Alice's latest beau.

"Well, I'd best get to bed. I have to be in the office early tomorrow, and it has been a long day. Maybe we can catch up tomorrow night?" She was aware that there could be a lot to tell Alice by tomorrow.

"Sleep tight." Alice broke away from Greg to hug her friend. "Oh, God, it's so good to see you."

With that, they walked to their respective bedrooms, and Bella attempted to unpack, while ignoring the groaning and the creaking of the bedsprings that was emanating from the bedroom next to hers.

She arrived at the office building at 8:00AM the next morning. The concrete atrium in front of the building was teeming with office workers making their way to their daily grind. She felt out of place, like she should be walking into a noisy, dirty factory, rather than a pristine, white blocked skyscraper. She was slightly mollified by the sight of the Starbucks concession in the lobby, however, and walked straight over to join the line for her morning transfusion.

Latte in hand, she walked towards the barriers, grabbing at the Grayson-Brown pass that she had hanging around her neck from a lanyard. Pressing it against the square, black, sensor, she was surprised when there was no 'beep' to signify it had been recognized.

She tried again a couple of times, but had no luck. Sighing in defeat, she walked over to the queue in front of the security desk, joining a long line of visitors, and employees who had forgotten their passes. Usually she looked disdainfully at this queue; what kind of fool forgets their pass in the morning? Now she was one of them.

When she got to the desk, she explained the problem, and the security guard looked her up on the system. Glancing up at her a couple of times as he did, she watched his expression change from helpful, to suspicious.

"Your pass has been disabled by Grayson-Brown. There's a note on your file to call up to the office when you arrive. I'll let them know you're here. Please take a seat." He pointed over to the sofas near the Starbucks' concession.

So she was to join the ranks of visitors, not even qualifying as an employee who had lost her pass any more. As she walked across the highly polished black floor tiles, towards the soft squishy sofas, she began to wonder if this meeting was a foregone conclusion.

When she was eventually picked up some minutes later —by a young female intern, who couldn't have been much older than twenty—they walked over to the bank of elevators and joined the masses huddling inside of the second car.

"I'm to take you straight up to the penthouse," the blonde-haired, blue-eyed intern said firmly, almost as if she was expecting an argument.

"Fine. I'm looking forward to meeting Mr. Grayson." Bella smiled sweetly at the girl, knowing that an intern would have no idea of the reasons for Bella's visit.

"Oh! You're meeting Mr. Grayson?" The blonde's voice suddenly became more interested. More deferential.

Bella smiled and didn't reply. It was childish, but in the light of what was awaiting her in the penthouse, it was nice to have achieved a small victory.

By the time they reached the top floor, they were the only two left in the elevator. Bella flung out her arm in a flourish to the intern. "After you."

She wasn't really being that polite. In the four years that she had worked at Grayson-Brown, she had never been up to the penthouse floor. She really didn't want the slimy little intern to know that she had no idea where she was going.

"That is Mr. Grayson's office." Blondie pointed to the etched glass wall just to the left of the elevator bank. "His secretary is expecting you."

"Thanks." It was a gritted show of gratitude, but Bella was too polite not to say anything. She didn't look back as she walked towards the glass door, pushing down on the brushed steel handle as she entered the outer office. It housed three desks, one for his secretary, one for his assistant, and the third for an administrator. Bella recognized Grayson's secretary; she had seen her at company parties and drinks. From what she could remember, once the woman got some alcohol inside of her she went wild, and the table dancing and inappropriate groping of male interns started. Mr. Grayson must have really liked her to avoid any disciplinary sanctions.

"Ms Swan. I'll let Mr. Grayson know you're here." The secretary was all business today though.

It was only a couple of seconds later that she put down the phone and glanced back up at Bella.

"Mr. Grayson says to go straight in."

Bella took a deep breath of air in, allowing the oxygen to penetrate through her lung walls, before exhaling gently. She straightened her body, shoulders down, chest out, stomach in. Like a soldier planning to head to battle, she needed to mentally prepare herself.

Then she walked over to his office and rapped lightly on the glass, before opening the door. It was showtime.

He was standing by the window, looking out at the streets below. His thin form was cloaked in an expensive blue Gucci suit, hanging gracefully off his lean form. His hair was closely cropped, but even from the short gray covering, you could tell that if he grew it he would have a full, thick, head of hair.

John Grayson was a legend among consultants. At the tender age of 23, with only a couple of years' consulting at Anderson's under his belt, he had started his own Company with only a handful of clients to his name. Within two years he had a multi-million dollar business, and was known among his clients—and in the business community more widely —as 'The Fixer.'

"Sit down Ms. Swan." He was still looking away from her, out of the window. "You've been causing me a little bit of bother for the past day or so."

He twisted around abruptly, so fast that Bella wondered if somewhere in his DNA there existed superhero genes. The expression on his face was neutral, almost serene. She wished that some of this serenity would cross over to her, perhaps by osmosis.

"Mr. Grayson." She nodded slightly as she sat down on the soft grey tweed sofa. It was a relief to take the weight off her three-inch heels.

He walked over and took a seat on the sofa opposite. They were separated only by a large round, glass coffee table. It reflected the light from the elaborate fitting hung high above, and looked like it had never been touched. She resisted the urge to stamp fingerprint marks all over it.

"Ms. Swan. Or may I call you Isabella?"

"Bella is fine. Only my mom calls me Isabella." About once a year. Maybe twice—Christmas and birthdays.

"Bella." He gave her a small, tight-lipped smile. "I'm sure you know the reason for this meeting. Perhaps you'd like to enlighten me on all that has happened in Fairhaven over the past few weeks."

Ah, the classic consultant move. Never give anything away, seek information first. Always guard your hand.

Usually, in this sort of situation, she would bat the question right back at the other person. But you can't hunt the hunter. She was too afraid to even try.

"I was asked to go to Fairhaven by James, to look for efficiencies in their working practices." She could feel a blanket of calm wash over her as she began to talk. This was better than therapy.

"I gave my report to Mr. Volturi, the Plant director, but then a few other things happened. First of all, there was sabotage on the shop floor. Then, the Union leader died of a heart attack. Hearing that we wanted to make some severe changes, the workers went on strike." As she spoke, John Grayson stared straight at her, watching her mouth as it moved, perhaps looking for any signs of a 'tell'.

"I went with the management team to negotiate a settlement, which we eventually arrived at," she continued. "But during this time, I was receiving anonymous notes, hinting that there was something more unsavory going on. That I wasn't there just to make efficiencies."

"What kind of notes?" Grayson interrupted for the first time, leaning forward in interest.

"Copies of memos, of emails between Aro Volturi and James Hunter. Hinting that they were trying to set me up." She paused, expecting another question.

"Go on."

"Eventually, I worked out that their intent all along was to close Fairhaven, that they never expected the efficiencies to be accepted by the Union. But what I wasn't aware of, until I received an anonymous text, was the reason behind this." As she spoke, Grayson stood up and walked over to a wet bar on the far side of his office, and poured them both a glass of ice cold water. Bella took it gratefully from him, putting the thin glass to her lips, allowing the liquid to moisten her tongue.

"I then discovered that Aro Volturi and James Hunter were trustees of the pension fund, and had authorized a $20 million loan to a dummy corporation. Which they just happened to own, along with a couple of others."

"Others?" Grayson queried, one eyebrow rising up.

"Tanya Denali, the former head of HR at Fairhaven is involved, as is one other lady."

"So what happened yesterday? I hear there was a fight at Fairhaven."

Bella took a deep breath. This was the part where she didn't come out looking like a hero.

"I went in to confront Aro Volturi. He denied it at first, then he tried to hurt me. Then one of the Union leaders came in and they started to fight. The police were called, and they were taken away. I then spent a few hours with a detective telling him everything I knew."

"One of the union leaders? As in Edward Cullen?"

"Yes." Bella looked down at her feet, her face flushing with mortification. John Grayson had to be totally aware, by now, of who Edward was, and of their relationship. Her fingers were intertwined, moving nervously as she knew what his next words may be.

"And you and Edward Cullen are having a relationship?"

"Yes." Her voice was small.

"Please look at me when I'm talking to you Bella," he said gently, almost coaxing her head up with his tone. "I need to get all the facts straight here."

"Okay." She looked up. His expression was still placid and curious.

"From what I've gathered, this isn't the first time you've had an inappropriate relationship with somebody at work. Am I right?"

This was worse than an inquisition from her mother. Bella felt like she was five years old, being chastised for eating one too many cookies. When he put it in such stark, plain, terms, she could do little but agree with him.

"No, it isn't." She took a deep breath, straightened her shoulders, and returned his gaze. "I had a two-year affair with James Hunter."

"I'm sure you're aware that fraternization at work in firmly discouraged here at Grayson-Brown. It muddies things up, causes problems in the office." Grayson shook his head as he looked at her. "The first person you should be able go to in situations like these is your boss."

Bella let out a short, bitter, laugh. "How could I go to him, if he was involved?"

"Then you should have gone to his boss. Or to me. We have a code of conduct, and we have an ethics officer. Any one of those should have been consulted. Instead I had to find out in a telephone call from the Police, that one of my consultants had been involved in the biggest corporate fraud that Grayson Brown has ever seen."

For the first time, his cool demeanor changed. His fingertips were at his temple, as if to massage away any pain that he might be feeling.

"I'm sorry." And she was. Not once had she thought about the effect on the wider Grayson Brown reputation. All thoughts had been on Fairhaven, on herself and on Edward. And not necessarily in that order.

"Detroit Motors are a big player. Imagine the conversation I had to have with their CEO yesterday. Not to mention the emergency board meeting I had to convene. And I had no warning, no prior information from ONE OF MY EMPLOYEES that there was anything going on." He was shouting now, any sense of control had dissipated. His face was red, screwed up in anger.

Bella didn't know how to react to his sudden change of emotion. She cowered back into the seat, trying to remind herself that this was not Aro Volturi. It wasn't even James Hunter. She was safe.

Grayson stood up suddenly, and started pacing across the soft cream carpeted floor. Bella remained seated, watching him as his walking seemed to calm him down, to center him. Within a couple of minutes he was back at the sofa, sitting down again.

"Bella, I'm sure it will come as no surprise for you to learn that your employment here at Grayson Brown is terminated immediately. As much as I admire your bravery and tenacity for uncovering this fraud, the reputational impact on my business is catastrophic. I can't be seen to condone a consultant who fraternizes with a union leader, who involves the police in a client's problems. It's just untenable."

So this was it. Her worst fears were confirmed. If it was possible, she felt even more upset than she had anticipated. The nauseous feeling that had been at the pit of her stomach all morning, was threatening to rise up through her throat and explode all over Grayson's gleaming glass table. She swallowed hurriedly in an attempt to suppress it.

"I'd like you to leave the building straight away. Please don't go down to your office. I'll have your drawers cleared out and any personal belongings returned to you."

"Okay." It was all she could manage. The maelström of thoughts in her head was threatening to implode on her.

"And I'd like you to ensure you have no contact with any employee working here. That includes James Hunter." He paused, his eyes almost apologetic as he finished his sentence. "In return for this, you will be paid a lump sum of three months' net wages."

Bella sniffed and nodded her head in agreement. She needed to get out of the building. Right now. She felt like the walls were moving in on her, crushing her. She needed fresh air and sky.

"Can I go?" She was standing as she asked, suddenly realizing that she was no longer his employee to boss around. She could do what the hell she liked.

"Please." He nodded and stood with her, escorting her to the door. "Good luck, Miss Swan."

With that, she was outside his office, and he closed his door. She didn't look at his secretary or the other office staff as she walked through the outer room, her mind set on getting to the elevator with as little fuss as possible. She needed to get out of this building while she still had any dignity intact.

For once she was lucky. As soon as she pressed the elevator call button, the doors on elevator number 3 started to open. She walked over to it, reminding herself as she looked at the brush steel doors that in only a few moments she would be able to leave this place behind.

And then her luck disappeared, as the doors opened wide enough to reveal James Hunter standing behind them.

Time seemed to stand still as they stood in front of each other, neither moving, neither revealing any expression on their faces.

He was dressed in a light gray suit, with a dark blue tie lying over his white dress shirt. Like her, he seemed to have dressed himself well for his execution. She had no doubt that he was about to face a similar ordeal to her own.

"What the fuck are you doing here?" he finally spoke, staring at her through dark, glaring eyes.

"I work here," she replied dryly, not wanting to admit that she had been fired.

"Not for much longer if I have anything to do with it. Do you know that I have to meet with a team of detectives today? Apparently you've been running your mouth off left right and center."

Bella didn't answer his question. It seemed rhetorical, and anyway, she didn't want to give him the satisfaction.

"I have to go now, James. I'd like to say it was a pleasure knowing you, but it wasn't. I can measure in a teaspoon all the satisfaction you've managed to provide during our two years together. I hope you get everything you have coming to you."

She couldn't stand to look at him anymore. There was nothing left, nothing but contempt, and hatred, and the feeling that she wanted to go back in time two years and beat her younger self up. Brushing past him, in a more violent way than was needed, she ran into the elevator and pushed the button for the first floor. As the doors started to close, he turned around and stared at her with a sneer.

"Watch your back, baby. I will get you. I promise you that."

His angry face was replaced by the brushed steel of the closing elevator doors, and she felt the cage begin its descent.

As soon as she arrived on the first floor, she almost ran across the lobby, needing to get outside, wanting to calm down the jangling nerves in her body. Her head was throbbing painfully, her stomach almost heaving with the need to be sick. Walking through the sliding doors to the exterior, she could finally feel her knees starting to give way.

The ground seemed to shift beneath her, then she was collapsing, with nothing to grasp on to, nothing to break her fall.

And as gravity pulled her down, she registered shock that the concrete slabs felt like soft familiar arms, catching her, holding her, pulling her back.

Edward.


	26. Chapter 26

**CHAPTER 26 - Homesick Blues  
**

"It's okay, I've got you." Edward's words were like an incantation. His arms were supporting the full weight of her body as she felt herself falling down, being pulled down towards the concrete slabs like an iron filing towards a magnet. "Baby, I've got you."

"Edward?" Her voice sounded surprisingly brittle to her, like it had been frozen solid and could shatter at any moment.

"Are you hurt?" He pulled her up to standing, until her soles and heels were aligned to the sidewalk, her knees shaking with the effort it was taking to support her bodyweight. As if he was aware that she could collapse again, he pulled her chest tightly against his, almost lifting her up off the ground, in his efforts to hold her up.

She shook her head slowly, in answer to his question, not trusting herself to speak without breaking. People were walking around them now, some stopping to stare at the strange couple just standing there, in the middle of the sidewalk. She couldn't find it in herself to give a damn about what they thought.

Slowly she lifted her chin up, raising her gaze with it as she took in the man standing before her, holding her up. His eyes stared right back at her, the corners wrinkled with concern, the sewn-up gash from his fight with Aro still red and livid on the side of his cheek. Her hand tingled with the urge to reach up and touch it; to softly caress the cut and see how tender it was.

"Sweetheart, say something. What the hell happened in there?" His voice rose up as he spoke, his agitation becoming vocal, as he watched her gain enough strength to stand unsupported.

"I'm through." She didn't want to say it, didn't want to articulate what, until now, she had managed to keep within herself. To admit it was to accept it, and right now that was a step too far.

"Oh, Bella." He pulled her closer still, his head bowing until his lips brushed the top of her hair, then he turned his head and rested his cheek there. "I'm so sorry."

And he was. Or at least he sounded regretful, although he had very apologetics prologue for. He wasn't Aro, or James, or even Tanya Denali. Any involvement that he'd had in the whole scenario was exactly like hers was; not of their making.

The wildness in her head was calming now. The blood had slowed its rush. She was able to think—if not with clarity, then at least with some semblance of normality. It was like her body was coming slowly back to life, starting with the sensation of solid ground beneath her heels, and the feeling of Edward's chest firmly pressed against her own. She was waking up from a bad dream, and it was taking some time for her to realize that reality was something quite different.

Because the reality was that she and Edward had stopped something really bad from happening. And in spite of the difficulties they had both endured—the loss of her job and the pain she was feeling right now—she would do it all again.

And how could she regret the one thing that had brought her happiness among all the distress? You can't make an omelette without breaking eggs, and between them, Bella and Edward had managed to whip those eggs up until they were pretty damn fluffy.

She was suddenly overwhelmed with the urge to tell him that she loved him. And yet there was the fear again; creeping its frozen fingers around her heart, squeezing it until she was more afraid of this than she ever was of confronting Aro or James. She had been so strong; was she able to endure for just a while longer? Closing her eyes, and squeezing them tightly, she took a deep breath in, and nuzzled her face deeper into the soft folds of Edward's coat.

"I love you." It was just a whisper, muffled by the woollen fabric of his lapels, but to her ears it was as if she was shouting for the entire world to hear.

Then, a moment's silence, stretched across forever, while they both waited for the words to sink in. She felt the cold air rush against her head as he moved his face away from her hair, then his finger was touching her, just under her chin, tipping her head up again to look at him.

"Bella." It was a murmur, an affirmation. "Jesus, I love you so much." His head inclined towards hers, until the soft vapour of his warm breath against the cold air began to dance against her skin, his lips barely skimming hers as he continued. "When I saw you come out; for one fucking, horrific moment, I thought Hunter had hurt you. I thought—"

"I wouldn't have let him." Her voice was stronger now, as if just letting the words loose had somehow built her back up again. "I wouldn't give him the satisfaction." Her hand crept up to his face and gently brushed against his injured skin, causing him to wince and draw back momentarily.

"Fuck, that hurts," he nearly whimpered, as Bella hurriedly pulled back.

"You big baby," she teased, tensing the muscles around her mouth as she tried not to smile at his reaction. She was still learning things about him every day; cute things like how he had a low tolerance to pain. She wondered if Esme used to baby him when he got hurt as a child.

"You got that right, sweetheart." He pulled her closer, as their talk turned on a dime into something dirtier and visceral. "I'm happy to show you just how big I am whenever you want. I won't even make you beg."

She let out a short laugh, looking back up at him, trying to drink him in. Then she shook her head as it sank in that this was Edward—in her hometown, far away from his own home in Michigan.

"You came here for me?"

"I got on the first flight I could after I listened to your message." He shrugged as he reached out to her face, running the back of his hand gently down her cheek, the coldness of his knuckles a sharp contrast to the hot blood of her blush.

"Why?" She knew she was behaving like a girly-girl now, wanting him to whisper sweet nothings as he told her why he had chased her for thousands of miles across the country. But something inside of her needed to hear it.

"Bella," he breathed her name, "you have been so fucking strong throughout this mess. I've been so in awe of you, the way you confronted Aro, the way you travelled to Seattle, knowing that you were a lamb going to the slaughter. You've done your best to keep everything going, and now I just want to carry you for a change. You deserve to have that."

His face took on a comical expression as he looked closely at her. "I wasn't expecting to have to literally carry you though."

She hit him, her small fist rebounding against the hard muscles in his left bicep. "Fuck you, nobody asked you to catch me." She was smiling too; a goofy, slightly inebriated grin, as his feelings for her were finally sinking in.

"I wasn't sure I wanted my girlfriend to become too closely acquainted with the concrete slabs. You're pretty, just the way you are." He leaned in to place a small peck on the tip of her nose. "I'm serious though, Bella. We're a team, sometimes you have to let me take the strain."

She stared up at him, uncomprehending. She had never had anybody to lean on, never been able to rely on anyone but herself to see things through. Not James, and certainly not Renee. She frowned slightly, wondering if she was even able to give up enough of herself to even let him shoulder some of the strain.

And yet here they were. She had fallen, and he had quite literally, as well as metaphorically, saved her. The world hadn't stopped. It hadn't profoundly changed her personality. She was still Bella Swan.

But could she become Bella Swan 2.0? Now able to talk things through with somebody who was there for her, and able to rely on somebody to always be on her side? Was this something that was even possible for her?

Looking up at Edward, at his tired eyes and his bruised and cut face, she felt sure that she was strong enough to take this one, final step. And if she wasn't strong enough, then he could carry her.

"Thank you." She stood on the tips of her toes, trying to gain enough height to brush her lips against his. "Thank you for being here, for rushing halfway across the country to save me." She closed her eyes and breathed him in, the scent of his skin mingling with the cold damp smell of the air surrounding them. The contrast between the heat of his breath and the chill of the wind was making her skin feel tender.

"Fuck it," he muttered, lifting her up, crashing his lips against hers as he held her with one hand on her back, the other on her behind. She moaned into his mouth as his tongue probed her, brushing first against her lips, then gently dancing against her own tongue.

Breaking the kiss, he gently let her back down, putting his hands on her face, brushing the hair away from her forehead.

"Let's get out of here," he said, as Bella tried not to meet the surprised stares of the passers-by, who were watching their extreme PDA. Pulling at her uninjured hand, he walked towards the coffee shop on the corner of the block, pushing open the door and guiding Bella in. The warmth emanating from the heater above the entrance was like an instant relief; her skin thawed and softened at its touch. Edward followed behind, pulling the door closed as he entered; shielding her body with his against the breeze that was still finding its way through the cracks in the door.

"Coffee?" His hand was in his pocket, pulling out some change, and Bella was suddenly really intrigued to see what he would order. She couldn't picture him as a chai latte-type; it was way too new age for him. Perhaps a cappuccino man, or even a straight espresso? Something simple, and not too fussy, she decided.

"I'd love a grande skinny latte, extra shot, please," she answered, already knowing what her coffee said about her. She drank too much of the stuff, and was trying to make up for it by lowering the percentage of the milk involved. She was essentially a pretentious woman who was only fooling herself.

Or maybe she just liked the taste of it.

Edward turned to the barista. "One grande skinny latte, and one medium Americano with room."

So that was it, definitely no-nonsense, straight down the line. The coffee suited him and she liked it. An Americano would never have her questioning his masculinity.

Thank God for that.

Later, when they went back to her apartment, Bella was relieved to see that it was deserted. She wasn't sure what had happened to Alice and Fabio, but wherever they had gone, she was thankful.

"So, this is my other place." She smiled at him, as she flung her arm around in a circle. "About half the size and twice the rent of my place in Michigan."

"More homely though, more you." Edward leaned forward and softly placed his lips on her neck. "It kinda suits you."

Bella pulled back, her eyebrows pulling together as she frowned. "Are you calling me homely?"

Edward barked out a laugh. "No, you silly woman, I'm calling your apartment homely. You, my princess, are the opposite of homely." He leaned in closer to her neck again, kissing the sensitive, thin skin just below where her jaw-line met her ear. "You are exquisite," kiss, "glorious," kiss, "absolutely fucking gorgeous." More kisses, then his tongue, teasing against her as his mouth gently sucked at her skin, making her body arch against him, her breasts rubbing against his chest as she did.

"Right there," she breathed, pulling his face closer to her neck as her fingers curled around his hair, her fingertips massaging his scalp. "Oh God, Edward—"

"Hmmm." The vibrations of his moan did something to her neck that went straight to her thighs, making her want to clench hard. Then his lips moved lower, sweeping their way down her neck until he was kissing her collarbone, sucking at the dip between her shoulder and neck.

His hand moved up and brushed against her breast, his thumb flexing as he touched her nipple, coaxing it until it pebbled. Then he was undoing her blouse, tiny button by tiny button, as she looked down, watching his large fingers try to gain purchase on the little pearl fastenings.

"I probably smell like shit, I haven't had a chance to shower since I got off the plane," he muttered, his eyes staring straight at her chest as he pushed her blouse open, until it was hanging off her shoulders.

"I have a shower." She gasped as his lips moved down to the swell of one breast, as his hand came up to brush against the other. "It's very nice."

"I bet it fucking is," he murmured against her, the soft stubble on his face rubbing against her skin in the most sensitive, ticklish way. "It would be nicer if you were in there with me."

"There isn't much room." She was smiling now, her hands running down the sharp spine of his back, to where his shirt met his pants. She tugged gently, exposing skin; touching it.

"I don't need much room." He moved his lips back up to her face, pulling her hips against his so that he could grind against her. She closed her eyes as she felt him firmly against her pelvis; the juxtaposition of his hardness and her softness feeling just too good to ignore.

"I guess you'd better show me your moves, Houdini," Bella said, as he picked her up, pulling her legs around his hips. She silently congratulated herself for wearing a flared skirt today. It would save her one more trip to the mender's.

"I don't even know where your room is. I can't believe I have to do this all over again." He was grinning widely at her now. They were both feeling lightheaded at their reunion, at the thought of coming together once again.

"First door on your left. And I can walk, you know, if you can't take the weight."

"I told you I've always got you." He was smiling that sexy, crooked grin at her, showing white teeth and just a hint of tongue. "So quit your bitching."

He walked straight through her room, towards her bathroom on the other side, not letting her down until they were fully inside. Then he pulled her blouse off altogether, his hands wrapping around her back as he fiddled with the clasp on her bra, pulling it together then apart, to undo the hooks and eyes.

"Shit, I've missed these." Within a moment his head was buried in the dip between her breasts, his hands coming up to join in. "You've no idea how much I thought about you when I was locked up in a cell. I started to get scared that Bubba would be paying me a visit."

"I'd never let Bubba get you, baby. I've got your back."

"I need you to protect my front too." He was pulling at her skirt now, trying to work out how to unfasten it. Bella quickly twisted it around and slid down the zipper, letting him do the rest as he pulled it down, past her thighs, her knees, until it was a pool of fabric at her feet.

"Like a human shield?" She tugged at his buttons as he was unfastening his pants, their movements getting more frantic, as desperation became their driving impulse.

He pulled his pants down first, bending awkwardly as he tried to keep his torso straight, to allow Bella to finish undoing his buttons. As his shirt gaped open, she tried not to blink as she looked at his chest. It was firmer than she remembered, a light smattering of hair covering the area just above his pectoral muscles. He shrugged the shirt off all together, leaving them both standing there in their underpants, and very little else.

Bella felt a sudden wave of embarrassment at her obvious arousal, as she looked down and saw her nipples standing firmly out, and feeling the dampness between her legs. Glancing up at Edward, she could see that he was staring at the same thing; his eyes wide as his gaze swept from her panties, up her stomach, lingering over her breasts before eventually meeting her gaze.

"Hi."

"Hi yourself." She barely supressed a giggle at his salutation.

"Would you like to take a shower with me, Isabella Swan?" He was teasing her. She liked that they felt comfortable enough in each other's company to do that.

"I'd love to get wet with you, Mr. Cullen." She bit her lip as she pulled down her panties, feeling daring and yet shy at exposing herself to him so fully, under the bright glare of the bathroom lights.

He stood back and stared at her again. She watched his face, as his breath hitched slightly, his tongue darting out to lick his dry lips as he drank her in. His eyes were dark; she wasn't sure if it was in response to the bright light overhead, or a more visceral response to the sight of her body.

"Beautiful," he mumbled to himself, as he bent down to dispose of his boxers before baring himself to her. His cock was firm and hard, upright against his belly as he stood, the muscles in his thighs strong as he tensed, watching her look at him, appreciate him, love him.

She dropped to her knees.

"Baby, I need to wash." He pulled her back up and into the shower cubicle, pulling the door closed behind her as they crowded within.

She was right; it was a tight fit in there. It was cosy enough for one, but for two, it was downright squashed.

Bella pushed the 'on' button, and the water immediately cascaded from the shower-head. They both squealed as the cold liquid descended upon their bodies, before it heated up to an ambient temperature.

She jumped back, her arm banging against the screen door, making her wince as her funny bone took the brunt of the blow.

"Ow!" she cried out softly, rubbing her arm while simultaneously still trying to look sexy under the now warm jet of water. It wasn't the look she had been aiming for.

"You okay, babe?" He pulled her closer, rubbing at her arm as he shook with laughter. Bella was wondering if the idea of shower sex was actually better than the reality of it.

"I'm okay." She smiled back at him, feeling him pull her tightly against his body, flesh meeting flesh in a wet, slippery, firm way.

His hands were back on her breasts, the water pouring down over them as they touched. His fingers pulled and caressed, and Bella could feel herself keening towards him.

And it was good that there was water in there, pouring down over her face, because suddenly she could feel her eyes watering at the strength of her feelings for this man, at the way he loved her and made her feel.

"Please, Edward."

He dipped his head and kissed her. His hands cupping her ass as he ground against her, her legs starting to buckle as she felt the intensity of the sensations he was causing.

"Jesus." He moaned as he lifted her, his hands supporting her behind, pushing her back against the cold wet tiles. "This isn't going to last very long."

He pushed inside her, and Bella felt like she was finally home. It didn't matter which state she was in, hell it didn't matter what country she was in, home was Edward, and Edward was home.

And being with him like this was bliss.

. . .

Later, they lay together on her bed, under the soft, white covers, and Bella found herself coming down from her Edward-induced high like an addict crashing after a dose of speed.

"I haven't got a job." Her voice was small as she voiced her biggest fear. For the first time since graduation, she was unemployed. It made her feel unworthy, like she would never find her place in the working world again.

Edward curled his body into hers, his arms wrapping around her waist, as he gently pulled her against him. "Will they give you a reference?"

"I doubt it." Her voice was harsh, like sandpaper against skin. "They had every right to fire me. I'm not exactly a glowing example of good behavior."

"So there's no point in grieving it?"

"I'm employed at-will. I exposed them to a massive reputational loss. I'm lucky that they aren't suing me."

She didn't feel lucky though. Professionally she was lost, cast adrift.

"Sweetheart," he whispered. His hands were making gentle circles on her lower back. At least she was wanted here.

"I'm unemployed, virtually unemployable. I can't even afford to stay in this rundown fucking apartment." She shook her head. "For the first time since I was eighteen, I have absolutely no direction in my professional life."

"You feel like you don't know what you're doing?" His voice was gentle and deep. Bella snuggled in closer to him, craving the protection of his flesh.

"I literally have nowhere to go. It frightens the shit out of me."

"Baby, you always have somewhere to go. You have me."

He said it so simply, it was hard for her to argue with him. It was like he was stating a fact, an incontrovertible truth. As if he was telling her that the sun would rise, or that night would fall. She had him.

She looked up, and saw the certainty in his expression as he stared back at her. There was no doubt in her mind that he meant those words.

"I have nowhere to live."

"You have me. Come home with me."

She had him.

"Yes." Her response was as simple as his, but buried in those words was so much more than she could vocalize. She was telling him that she loved him, that she trusted him. They were a unit, Edward and Bella, Bella and Edward. Where he went, she would follow, where she led, he would run.

"Tomorrow, let's go home tomorrow." He buried his face in her hair, as it fanned out across her pillow, over the bed covers. "Move in with me. I'll take care of you; you can take care of me."

"What about your job?" She looked up, her face suddenly falling as she felt like the most selfish, self-centred prick in the world. "You've lost your job, too."

Edward smiled, pulling her back. "I heard from Garrett this morning. Detroit Motors are backtracking. They're so scared about the reputational damage from the scandal, that they've agreed to keep Fairhaven open for at least another year."

Bella sighed, thinking about all those jobs that had been reprieved. If nothing else, then the sacrifice had been worth this.

"I've been offered a full time position at the Union, too." His voice was soft, almost as if he was embarrassed at his own good luck, in the face of Bella's losses that day.

She sat up, feeling a big, genuine smile creep across her face. "Edward, that's fucking fantastic. I can't believe you didn't tell me before."

"It didn't seem like the right time. They only called me this morning. I didn't want to make any decisions without talking it through with you."

Laying back, and closing her eyes, Bella swallowed hard, as she thought about his offer, his wish for her to move in with him. There were probably so many reasons why this wasn't a good idea, so many arguments for taking things slowly, and seeing where they ended up. But they just weren't good enough.

"I'll come home with you tomorrow," she replied, laughing as he pulled her against him, hugging her so hard she was almost breathless. And the expression on his face, as he pulled back to look at her, was one of wonder, mixed with exhilaration. It pretty much mirrored her own, exact feelings.

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**A/N Thanks to BelleDean for BETAing, and to SunflowerFran and Sparrownotes24 for pre-reading.**

**And thanks to you all for reading, reviewing and recommending. One more chapter to go.**


	27. Chapter 27

**A/N – a longer note is at the end, but before I post I just wanted to let you know that this is the final chapter. However, I will be adding an EPOV outtake of chapter 3 that I wrote for Fandom Fights Hurricane Sandy, so please keep following if you'd like to read it - it should be up in the next couple of weeks.**

**Now, here we go…**

* * *

**CHAPTER 27**

**18 Months later….**

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_**DETROIT BUSINESSMAN FACES JAIL FOR EMBEZZLEMENT OF PENSION FUND**_

_**By Elizabeth Simpson**_

_**Detroit Free Press Staff Writer**_

_ A Detroit businessman was jailed today, having been found guilty on five counts of fraud and embezzlement. Aro Volturi, who until last year was the Director of Detroit Motors' Fairhaven plant, was responsible for stealing over $20 million from the plant's pension fund. _

_James Hunter, and Tanya Denali, who conspired with Aro Volturi to defraud the fund, were both imprisoned earlier this year, having agreed to plead guilty to lesser charges in exchange for their testimony against Mr Volturi_

_It is believed that Hunter, who prior to being charged was a partner at Grayson-Brown (a Seattle-based consultancy firm), is still under suicide watch, having made two previous attempts on his own life since being imprisoned._

_Volturi received a prison sentence of 15 years, and was fined $250,000 for his role in the conspiracy. Both Hunter and Denali are serving jail sentences of 5 years, and were fined $150,000 apiece._

_Detroit Motors issued a statement today:_

"_The past eighteen months have been particularly difficult for all concerned. We are pleased that we can now draw a line under this challenging episode, and concentrate on the future of the Fairhaven Plant." _

_Last January, Detroit Motors signed a pact with the UAW which ensures the plant will remain open for at least the next five years._

_. . ._

Finishing the article, Bella put her iPhone in her bag and lay back on the sun lounger, feeling the warmth of the sun's rays bathe her face. It had been a hard eighteen months—the stress of her move to Michigan, coupled with the spectre of the trial hanging over them hadn't made for the best start to her and Edward's new life. There had been times when she had wondered if they were going to be able to keep it all together, to find a way through. And yet here they were, finally taking their first vacation as a couple.

"Did you read it?" Edward's voice made her raise her head; he had got out of the pool and was standing over her, his hair releasing steady droplets of cool water on to her stomach.

"Yes. You?"

"The Union sent me the link earlier. I guess it's all over." He looked at her with concern.

"I guess it is. Finally. I suppose I should feel relieved, but all I feel is numb. The wheels of justice seem to turn very slowly sometimes."

"You should feel proud. You're the one responsible for uncovering everything and you were the one brave enough to get up on the witness stand." He didn't add about the slating she'd been given by the press for having been involved with both her boss and the Union Leader. Some things were best left forgotten.

"I just want to forget it all. We're on vacation—we should be enjoying ourselves. Can we think about this stuff when we get back?"

"Sounds like a good idea to me. Do you fancy a drink?" Edward asked, bending over as he rubbed himself down with the beach towel. Bella nodded, and watched him as threw the towel on his lounger and wandered over to the bar, the firm muscles in his back rippling under his skin as he walked. After only a week in Hawaii his flesh had turned a dark tan, and the sun had bleached light streaks of strawberry-blond through his untamed mop of hair. Looking at him made her eyes hurt; it was like looking straight at the sun.

Having reached his destination, and given his order to the bartender, Edward turned around and looked over at her, the corner of his eyes crinkling as he checked her out. Bella sighed inwardly as she regarded his bare chest. His pectoral muscles were firm and defined, leading down to his hard, toned stomach, a line of dark hair led from his navel to the waistband of his swim shorts. They hung low on his hips, exposing the clear 'v' of his hips, as they disappeared into the fabric. She wanted to go right over there and drag her tongue down his stomach until it reached the ultimate destination.

Her glance roamed steadily upwards until she reached the stubbled flesh of his face. He was smirking at her; his expression cocksure and knowing. If only she could see his green eyes underneath his Ray-Bans, she was sure she would see him raising a single eyebrow in response to her scrutiny. Her body tingled—from the effects of the heat, as well as from the blood that was rushing to her skin—and she suddenly felt the need to take a long dip in the cool pool.

Deciding this was a good idea, she gradually peeled herself from the sun lounger, adjusting her white string bikini before walking across the tiled path. She could feel the heat rising up through the ceramic floor and into the soles of her feet as she moved towards the water.

"Feeling a little overheated?" Edward asked, as he walked towards her, carrying a bottle of beer and a light brown creamy cocktail.

"I just felt like a quick dip."

"Well, don't be long. We wouldn't want your _Screaming Orgasm_ to get warm."

He'd been bringing her cocktails with suggestive names all week. She hadn't objected to _Sex on the Beach_ or even a _Slow, Comfortable Screw_. Especially when he'd suggested that if she drank it, it would come.

Or rather, _she_ would.

As Bella climbed into the pool, she could feel the intensity of his stare burning into her back, like a laser through glass. But as she plunged downwards, the water was like an instant relief. Feeling it gently lapping against her flesh, the coolness of the liquid was a balm to her body. She closed her eyes as she bent her knees and went right under, the water line now above her head.

Holding her breath, she sank right to the bottom, her behind touching the tiled floor as she crossed her legs and started a slow count to sixty. She loved staying under the water for as long as possible, though it drove Edward crazy. At least three times so far this week he'd dove in after her, afraid that she was drowning.

She enjoyed being able to indulge her inner Baywatch-fantasies.

After a count of forty, she could feel the lack of air burning at her throat and lungs. At this point, her body's need to breathe overrode common sense, and she had to work hard to stop her mouth from opening and attempting to inhale. She tensed her stomach muscles, willing her chest to remain still, and for her lungs to stop themselves from inflating.

It was mind over matter. She was in control of her body.

After counting for another ten, she felt the surface above her move, and soon the water around her was swirling and ebbing, and she felt strong arms encircling her waist, pulling her up, as he clasped her to him.

David Hasselhoff had nothing on Edward Cullen.

"I wish you'd stop doing that, you scare the shit out of me," Edward chided, still holding her, as she opened her mouth wide and gasped for air.

Her lungs inflated to receive the oxygenated offering, and her eyelids flew up, seeing his bright green irises just in front of her. She was suddenly hyper-aware that his skin was touching hers, and her nipples involuntarily pebbled against his chest.

"You're the only one that reacts, Edward," she pointed out, gesturing over to the lifeguard, who was sprawled on the high chair, barely even scanning the pool. "Even he knows I'm okay."

"Well, I've got a vested interest." Edward glanced down at her chest, his eyes following the line of her cleavage as it led to his own flesh. His pupils darkened, his breath hitching as he felt her reaction to him.

"I love your vested interest. Perhaps we can discuss it somewhere more private?"

"I believe we have a very nice hot tub on our terrace." Edward tightened his grip on her waist, his head bending down until his lips grazed against her neck, causing her flesh to rise in tiny bumps. He could feel the vibrations of her sigh through her skin.

"I said private, Edward, not somewhere that anybody can see."

"You didn't seem to mind the lack of privacy last night. In fact, I remember that you liked it very much, when I pushed my cock inside your—"

"Stop!" She put her hand over his mouth tightly, closing out his words as she turned her head around to see if anybody was listening to them.

Suddenly she felt hotter than ever. There was nothing for it, she needed a cold shower, and she needed it right now.

. . .

Bella woke suddenly, the soft sheets tumbling down her chest as she sat straight up, her head whipping around as she looked for Edward. Wondering what roused her, she put her hand on the dip of skin between her breasts, feeling the thump of her heart as it hammered against her ribs. Closing her eyes, she tried to calm herself through controlled breathing, feeling the cool air rush against her throat as she inhaled and then the warmer, de-oxygenated breath hastening up through her windpipe as she emptied her lungs.

"Edward?" she called softly, aware that her pulse was still way too high, and hoping that the cool flesh of his lips would help lower it.

There was no answer. She rose from the bed, clutching the sheet to her body as she walked over to the bathroom. But there was nobody there. She was alone.

Her fingers trembled with the need for a cigarette. She'd given up months ago, but at times like these, the urge for nicotine always seemed to return. Trying to ignore her cravings, she tied the sheet around her body like a Roman toga, and walked towards the balcony of her hotel room, thinking that a glimpse of human life would calm her. She was still finding it hard to shake off the mantle of sleep.

Bella watched the sun fall, as it made its way to the horizon. The amber reflection of the ball of fire on the calm ocean reminded her of a solar flare, and the beauty of the view calming her jangling nerves. It felt like time had lost its linear edge, as she leaned against the cast-iron railing. Minutes could have passed, or tens of minutes, before she heard the key-card in the door, and the mechanical clang of the lock as it came undone.

"Bella?" She could hear the slapping of his bare soles against the marble floor of the hotel room, as he walked towards her. Just the thought of him behind her made the tiny hairs of her arms stand on end, and the edges of her mouth turn up just a little.

She could feel the heat of him before anything else, as he stepped onto the patio and pushed his body against her back, his strong arms moving around her, pulling her towards his chest. He dipped his head and rested his chin on the bare skin of her shoulder.

He didn't need to say a word. He knew every part of her now, inside and out. When she awoke from a nightmare, he was the one to hold her, to reassure her, to tell her it was just a dream. And when she came home from work triumphant, having successfully completed another assignment, he was the one to open the champagne, and pour the sparkling liquid into a crystal glass, and toast her success.

And when she woke up trembling, but in a good way, he was the one to run his finger down her spine, and swiftly run his lips down her neck, down her chest, until the embers were ignited into a fire.

"Bad dream?" His lips grazed the sensitive skin of her neck as he spoke.

Bella smiled in response to his movement, her nipples had already hardened, and she could feel the rush of moisture below.

"Just a dream," she replied, leaning back against him, hardly even noticing that the sky had turned dark, the sun finally dipping below the horizon. His hands were spanning her waist, the pads of his fingers rubbing gentle teasing circles against the sheet, as his thumbs dug in to the soft flesh.

The sand below looked grey in the moonlight, a stark contrast to the idyllic whiteness of the daytime. The beach was deserted—the sun-worshippers and the families had all gone home. Looking out across the bay, to the inky black sea, and the volcanic hills to the east, it was easy to feel that they were all alone here.

Edward inched his hand through the gap in the sheet, his palm brushing against the side of her chest as he felt his way across her; reticent at first, then as he found her familiar curves, becoming more insistent. The air around them was cooler than earlier, but not enough to explain the extreme reaction of Bella's body to his touch. Goosebumps broke out all over her flesh, and she could feel his smile against her neck as he registered her reaction.

The long fingers of his right hand slowly trailed up her stomach, reaching her breasts, his thumb brushing against a nipple. The sensation shot right down to Bella's thighs, and she could feel the wetness forming between them, the familiar tingling starting to shoot its way up her stomach.

With his thumb on one peak, he could span across to the other with his forefinger, the two of them acting in concert to make her body start to quake.

"Edward. We're outside."

They were standing on their balcony; anybody could walk across the beach and see them, or even look up at them from the poolside.

"Bella." He moved his lips down to her collarbone, his hand brushing the sheet further down her body. "I intend to move inside very soon."

And just like that, his low voice strengthened her resolve. Or maybe it made her will crumble. Either way, she was going to let him ravish her on the balcony. She could feel her mouth opening, and the moan exhaling from her lips, but it was nothing compared to the sensation of his hands on her chest.

"Do you like that?" He pulled her back against him, and Bella felt his hands digging into her hips as he stumbled backwards and bent her over the bistro table in the middle of the floor. She placed her palms flat on the surface, bracing her against his weight. Pulling the sheet around until the opening was at her back, he ghosted his hand across her behind, his middle finger first probing its way past her cheeks, then gliding against her soft wetness, the viscosity of her reaction to him making him hum in approval.

"Yes." She bit her lip to strangle a moan. If they were going to do this thing, right here, right out in the open, she knew she had to maintain at least a modicum of self-awareness.

She leaned further over the table, holding the sheet tightly against her breasts as she continued to scan the beach for people. The coldness of the tiled surface cooled her body through the fabric.

"There's nobody here. It's just us. Just this," he replied, the thin cloth of his pants pooling on the floor as he released them—his body now just covered with a t-shirt and boxers. Bella pushed herself back towards him, trying to rub against him, to see if he was as turned-on as she was.

His fingers pulled backwards along her, the tips gliding against her as she involuntarily rocked in time to his motions.

"Please," she gasped.

"What, sweetheart? Tell me what you want?" His words were insistent, and he pulled his fingers out again, leaving a feeling of emptiness in their wake.

"Edward, please." She was ready to beg now, if that was what he wanted.

Behind her she could feel the fabric of his boxers brush her thighs as he pulled them down, then the firmer skin of his legs as he pushed against her.

"Say it," he demanded, his voice thick and low, like treacle. "Out loud."

And she did.

. . .

The following evening—their final night in Hawaii—they sat at a table for two in a local seafood restaurant that overlooked the ocean. She could feel a melancholic wistfulness dancing around their emotions; this vacation had been long anticipated and much needed. And now it was nearly over. Nearly time to go back home, back to work, and back to their new house in Ann Arbor.

She could tell that Edward was itching to see Seth and Leah, and that thought made her smile. They came as a package, he and his children, and now they were as much a part of her life as they were his. Neither of them had questioned the arrival of Bella in their father's life; they had accepted her presence from the start. And although there were sometimes arguments, and disagreements, and shouting, Bella managed to distance herself from that side of things.

Not that everything was perfect; real life was never as easy as they made it look in the movies. Her workaholism sometimes drove Edward mad. And when she was away on an assignment, she found herself missing him so much that it physically hurt her to talk to him. So she asked her boss, Sam Uley, if she could limit her travelling, but then he'd hung the carrot of partnership right in front of her nose, and she'd gone chasing after it, like a rat up a drainpipe.

She knew she'd been lucky to be taken on by another consultancy so quickly after leaving Grayson-Brown, and she was unwilling to do anything to jeopardize her job again. So she journeyed across the Midwest and then came home to her man and showed him some love. It was a good life, really.

"Can I bring you some appetizers?" The waiter was wearing a pair of board shorts and a lurid flowery shirt. Bella loved the laid back feeling of the restaurant; it was all about the good food, and not about the ceremony.

Definitely Edward's kind of place.

"We'll have the oysters please." Edward snapped the menu shut and handed it over to the waiter. She watched him as he picked up his beer and put the glass rim to his mouth, his lips curling over it before he tipped his head back and let the cool liquid spill down his throat. Putting the bottle down, his tongue snaked out across his lips, picking up the small beads of beer left behind.

Lucky beer.

Edward glanced up at her, his eyes catching hers, and then narrowing as he absorbed her appreciative gaze.

"Don't do that." His voice was low, and strained.

"What?" Bella replied, her face a sudden mask of innocence.

"Look at me like that."

Bella leaned forward, the neckline of her dress gaping to reveal the soft curves of her upper breasts. She watched his eyes dart down to her cleavage, and his teeth pull his lower lip in as he failed to look away.

"Like what?"

"Like you want me to bend you over the table and fuck you."

Bella laughed, sitting back in her chair and putting her glass of white wine to her lips. He seemed to have the impression that everywhere they went, she wanted him to make love to her.

He was probably right.

She searched around in her mind for a topic of conversation that wouldn't lead back to sex. With Edward around, that ruled out a lot of possibilities. Then her mind hit on the mother load.

"So, have you spoken to your mom since we've been away?" She ran the tip of her finger around the rim of her glass, glancing up at him through her eyelashes.

"No."

She could feel the muscles in her cheeks trying to pull up into a grin.

"How about the kids, have you managed to catch up with them?"

"Yes."

The words 'blood' and 'stone' sprang to mind. She raised her head to look him straight in the eye.

"Are you still thinking about sex?"

"Yes, Bella, I am. Thanks to you, I'm thinking about sex, while desperately trying not to think about my mother, or my kids, and it's making the whole thing pretty fucking conflicted."

She couldn't help but laugh this time, as she watched him cross his legs, and try to adjust himself without anybody else seeing him. The restaurant was full tonight—its reputation for fine, effortless seafood had gained it a large following. She kept her fingers crossed that the customers were too busy enjoying the good food to notice her boyfriend's discomfiture.

"Your oysters," the waiter said, as he placed the tray down in the middle of the table.

Edward picked up the one nearest him, and stared at it, his eyebrows meeting as he wrinkled his head in a frown.

"Is there a problem with your food, sir?" The waiter's voice took on a tone of panic, as Edward continued to stare down at the oyster with disdain.

Bella glanced across at him, half trying to see what was wrong with the oyster, and half embarrassed that he was making a scene in public.

"This oyster is bad. I need you to send them back." Edward's voice had turned hard; transforming him into the commanding union leader that she remembered so well. A little shiver ran down her spine as she recalled the way they used to spar with each other, neither willing to back down until the air was sizzling with sexual tension.

"I can't see anything wrong with it, Sir. I'm sure that if you just ate it, there would be no problem," the waiter protested, shrinking back from Edward's angry stare.

"Look at it!" He commanded. "Oysters are not supposed to look like this. There's no way I'm swallowing that."

Bella just wanted the ground to open up, and disappear. People were turning around to stare at them; the general hum of conversation had taken an audible dip.

The waiter turned to Bella, looking at her pleadingly. "I'm sure the lady will tell you that there's nothing wrong with it."

"Take it back." Edward's voice was acid now, and Bella sensed that he was reaching his breaking point. She bit her lip as she looked between her boyfriend and the waiter, the tension between them almost visible.

"Maybe if your wife just took a look at it—"

"She's not my wife."

Bella wanted to close her eyes and forget this was happening. But the waiter was intent on showing her the oyster anyway. She couldn't even bring herself to tell him where to stuff it.

"Ma'am, please tell your husband that there's nothing wrong with the oyster." The waiter took the shell from Edward's hand and brought it over to her. Bella was almost afraid to look; the thought of seeing a green, bad oyster, was enough to make her stomach turn.

Both men were looking at her expectantly. She felt like she was Kofi Annan, trying to broker peace between two warring nations. Biting her lip, she sighed, then allowed her gaze to scan down to the oyster.

It was just a shell. No oyster in it at all. It wasn't empty though; because right in the middle of the pink glossy surface, was a square-set diamond engagement ring.

Suddenly her heart was hammering against her ribcage. She looked up to see both Edward and the waiter standing in front of her, both sporting huge smiles.

Then Edward dropped down to one knee, taking Bella's free hand with his own, gently lifting it to his lips and brushing them against her flesh.

"Isabella Swan, will you do me the extreme honor of agreeing to be my wife?" The sincerity blazed from his eyes as he spoke to her, and she could feel the sting of tears as her eyes began to water.

She was too choked up to speak, the tears now running down her cheeks as she looked at this man; her friend, her love, her saviour.

And now, her fiancé.

She nodded vigorously, trying to smile despite the weeping, and she watched as he pursed his lips together and blew out a sigh of relief.

Before he took her in his arms, and pulled her to her feet to ravish her mouth with his own, he gazed back at her, his eyes filled with emotion, and whispered the exact words that she wanted to hear.

"I love you."

**THE END**

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**A/N This is probably going to be a long one, so please forgive me. There are so many people that have helped me to bring this story to completion, and I'm so grateful for their efforts. First of all BelleDean is a brilliant Beta – she has tidied up my grammar, made me question the characters' motives, and made some brilliant suggestions that are scattered throughout the story. SunflowerFran and Sparrownotes have been my excellent pre-readers, so very supportive every step of the way – I love you guys. **

**Kitty Vuitton has been an absolute star, and I'm so very grateful for all of her lovely reviews and pm's – she is so very supportive & I flove her. **

**Carano recommended this story on FB, and sent me over a lot of new readers – I was not only extremely flattered by this, but found a new fanfiction friend – so thank you.**

**Cutestkidsmom has been a brilliant cheerleader - she's always there when I need her.  
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**And all my friends on FB and twitter - you are wonderful, I'm so grateful for your support.  
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**Finally – to all of you that have read, reviewed or recommended, thank you. I wouldn't be doing this if you weren't there to read it – you mean a lot to me, and I'm so very happy you came along for the ride. Thank you, thank you, thank you.**


	28. Chapter 28

**Hi all, this is an EPOV out-take of Chapter 3 that I wrote for Fandom for Hurricane Sandy. It was beta'd by the lovely BelleDean, and pre-read by SunflowerFran.  
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**Corporate Affairs Chapter 3 Out-take - Union Business  
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He walks into the toy store and immediately feels claustrophobic; row upon row of shelves stuffed to the brim full of brightly colored plastic toys are crowding in on him like a garbage crusher. If they could talk they would be telling him he was useless, just the same way that Kate would tell him when he failed to wake up when the baby was crying, or the times that he came home late to find her trying to placate a colicky Leah.

Nobody teaches you how to do this, how to work out what the hell piece of plastic crap it is that your daughter wants for her birthday. This used to be Kate's job; she was —is —good at buying gifts, but now her presents come from her and Peter, and Edward was on his own. Daddy has to buy a separate gift, one that will probably turn out to be too old or too young for his baby girl, or maybe something that she has already gotten from somebody else.

He spends all of five minutes staring blankly at the shelves, before he gets the hell out of dodge — or the Disney Store as most people seem to call it. He decides he'll ask his mom to pick up something; she always seems to know exactly what Leah likes. He didn't even know that the Disney Channel cost extra on cable until Leah threw a fit the first time she stayed over at his new place and found that it wasn't part of his package.

He decides to head for the bar, thinking that maybe Emmett will be there or perhaps Ben will drop in on his way home from the office. A nice cold beer will be the perfect end to the day, and sitting at the bar has got to be better than sitting at home alone.

Work today was pretty hellish, he thinks as he walks back to the parking lot to locate his Volvo. He was in a two hour meeting with Carlisle and Emmett in the morning, discussing ways to put their pay claim across to the management team. The afternoon was spent being hurled abuse at by the workers, who couldn't understand why their pay hadn't already increased. Luckily Carlisle had managed to calm things down before they had gotten out of hand, and the union leaders had escaped with little more than a flea in the ear and the knowledge that tensions were running high at the car plant.

His car starts first time, humming gently as he changes the gear to drive. God he loves this car. The one thing that he managed to extricate from his fucked up marriage, his one constant in life. Before he reverses out of his space his phone buzzes. A glance at the display tells him it is Emmett calling.

"Yo Emmett," he responds, a small smile crossing his face. His friend and fellow union leader never fails to entertain or lighten the load.

"Bro, how's the retail therapy goin'? You going for a bikini wax next, or can I persuade you to re-attach your dick and join me for a drink?" Emmett's voice is loud, making Edward flinch away from the phone to protect his eardrums.

"My dick is still firmly attached to my body you fucker, unlike your balls which I hear are in a little silver box in your girlfriend's purse."

"Fuck you. My girlfriend has balls big enough for both of us." They both laugh; it's true. Irina, Emmett's girlfriend, wears the pants in their relationship. He is most certainly under her thumb, or rather under her body, at every opportunity.

Edward drives the short distance to the bar and parks out the front. He gets out of the car and presses the button on his key to lock it, unable to stop himself from gently rubbing the door, as if it is a girlfriend he's saying goodbye to rather than a heap of metal.

Inside Emmett is already at the bar with two beers lined up in front of him. Edward knows him well enough by now to understand that neither of those beers are for him; Emmett just has a fear of running out of beer before the next one is served, so he hedges his bets by ordering two at a time. He notices Edward walking towards him and makes a gesture towards the barman to bring another bottle.

"So what the fuck's up bro?" Clearly they aren't brothers. Emmett is huge; burly, dark-haired and swarthy skinned. Edward is tall, although not as tall as his friend, but that's where the resemblance ends. Still, they are brothers-in-arms; working for the good guys, representing the underdogs. Since Edward started working at the Fairhaven Car Plant nine years ago they have been inseparable. Many of the workers there think that Emmett is the dominant personality because of his loud, brash exterior, but in fact he idolizes Edward and not only for his intelligence and tenacity, but also for his compassion for his fellow man.

"Nothing's up here." They give each other a brief man-type hug — the sort that involves grabbing of biceps and a brief slap on the back. If it smelled, this hug would reek of beer and testosterone and motor oil.

"Then get this down you." In the spirit of camaraderie, Emmett passes Edward his other beer, while waiting for the bartender to bring a third. He must be fairly sure that the bartender will be swinging by soon; he's nearly finished his first bottle.

"Cheers bro." Edward tips his head back and molds his lips around the bottleneck, taking a long deep swallow. His eyes close as he feels the ice-cold liquid running down his gullet. This is the feeling he's been waiting for all day.

"Did you hear Volturi say he's got some management consultant arriving tomorrow?" Emmett grabs the third bottle from the bartender as soon as he brings it over, passing his first empty bottle back to the overworked host. "I knew the bastard was up to something."

"No," he turns to Emmett frowning, "I must have missed that piece of news when he was yelling at me for even existing."

"Hey dude, you know he just wants to lure you over to the dark side."

"Oh yeah, I can't tell you how many times he's told me he wants to use my skills for his greater glory." Edward rolls his eyes and takes another drink of beer. "Seriously, did he say why?"

"Nah, but Carlisle knows that they're gonna ask for efficiencies. He said we need to start preparing for a fight."

"I'm always preparing for a fight." Edward grimaces knowing how much truth there is in his statement. "The fuckers will always try and get one over us. They never stop."

"Amen to that." Emmett clinks his bottle against Edward's. "But we're here to stop them bro. We're kicking ass for the working class."

They sit and shoot the breeze for a while, and Emmett orders another beer for the road. The bar is still fairly quiet, it's not quite 8:00 PM yet, and while the working crowd has left for their homes and dinners, the partying revelers have failed to emerge from their chrysalises.

Eventually Emmett looks at his watch and declares defeat; he knows at some point he has to go home and listen to Irina give him shit for being home so late. And for drinking away their housekeeping money instead of putting it towards some shit like hummus or tzatziki.

Edward decides to stay for one last beer. If he goes home he'll have to tidy up and get ready for the kids to come over tomorrow. He'd rather leave it a mess; that way Leah and Seth can do what the hell they like and he won't have to bawl them out for making things untidy. It was a win-win situation; he got to drink beer and they got a laid back dad. Plus,it annoys the hell out of Kate when he let them get away with that shit.

A bottle and a half of beer means he has to make a quick trip to the john — a cramped dank room with two yellowing urinals barely attached to the wall, and a stall of doom that Edward has never dared enter. The thought of facing whatever it was that lived in the toilet in there was scary shit. He unzips, pulls out, and aims his stream in quick measure; a flick of his wrist and a tuck back in and he is done. At times like these he's glad he's not a chick; all that squatting down, and using paper, and having to clean a seat before you could even think about starting your ablutions; no wonder there was always such a queue for the ladies' room.

Wandering back to the bar, he sees that somebody has taken his seat. The stool next to it, recently vacated by Emmett, remains empty. No harm no foul; he wanders over and sits at the empty one, motioning to the bartender. In the 30 minutes or so since Emmett left the bar has gotten busy, the temperature has increased and the noise levels are significantly higher. He looks to his right at the person who stole his seat — it's a chick, small and petite, and all curves and chocolate brown hair. He can't see beyond her hair and wonders if she's a butterface.

She shouts over to the bartender for another shot of Patrone. He's surprised, she looks more like a wine drinker. He moves closer towards her, hoping to get a look at her face. Almost immediately she whips around to glare at him.

"Do you want me to raise my bitch brow, or are you going to back off?" Whoa, he moves backwards in surprise. Her eyes rise up to meet his, and suddenly he feels like his breath has been taken away. Jesus Christ she's the antithesis of a butterface. Her skin is smooth and translucent, she has these fucking huge brown eyes that are staring back at him. And her mouth, oh God her mouth, all pouty and plump.

"Just sitting at a bar, drinking my beer." He holds back his smile as he turns away from her and motions for the bartender to bring him one last bottle. He doesn't do this often — talk to strange girls in bars. He tried it for a while, just after he and Kate split up, and although he quite enjoyed the attention, not to mention the occasional hook up, there was something about waking up in the morning next to somebody he barely knew that was a complete turn off to him. When he roused himself in the AM, he wanted to be able to feel free and easy, not worry about how the hell he was going to get the girl out of his house without her declaring her undying love to him. Or at least begging him to take her on a date. At least his right hand didn't ask him to make a commitment.

But this girl — yeah he'd definitely take her on a date. Out of the corner of his eye he can see that she's still staring at him.

"You're pretty close to sitting on my lap drinking your beer." Oh, she's being playful now.

"Did you want me to sit in your lap?" He hardens slightly, thinking about her cute little ass perching on him. She grins at him; a surprisingly large, wide,happy grin that he can't help but return. Yep, he likes this girl.

"No, but you can buy me a drink." She shakes her now empty shot glass. "That will make me accept your apology."

He snorts, "I didn't apologize." She's feisty, but he likes to be the one in control. He gets perceptibly harder with the thought of that.

She whispers something and he leans in and frowns. He can't catch what she is saying, but wants to hear it.

"I'm sorry?" He hopes she'll repeat herself.

"Apology accepted," she ripostes, looking pleased with herself. He wonders if she'd have the same shit-eating grin when he pushes himself inside of her. "And mine's a shot of tequila. Patrone, definitely not Jose Cuervo." And she's fucking picky too.

Watching her slam her tequila shot is pretty hot. She keeps her eyes on him, covers the shot glass with her slim, elegant fingers, and bangs it on the bar before raising the rim to her lips and swallowing the tequila in one go. It's like porn for alcoholics.

"Thank you." Her tongue darts out and licks a stray bead of liquid from her lips.

"You're welcome," he growls, moving his eyes downwards, taking in the curves of her body as his eyes sweep her form. "I haven't seen you here before."

"I'm new in town."

"I won't ask you what you're doing here. Nobody moves here voluntarily." He moves closer to her again, wanting to feel her body heat, wanting to feel her body.

"Stop it," she blurts out. He pauses, momentarily shocked. She notices his surprise and quickly responds, "Sorry, just talking to myself."

A small lock of hair escapes from behind her ear, dangling in front of her eyes. He can't resist; he moves forward and tucks it back in place. His fingers drag across the skin of her cheek, and it is so soft it shocks him. He can both feel and see her gasp in response to his action and leans in towards her. His lips are just inches away from hers, and he has no option but to close the gap. He has to feel her, to taste her, to have her.

His lips move slowly against hers at first, his tongue lazily grazes against her mouth, he can feel rather than hear her moan in response. He pulls her towards him, lifting her slight body until she is almost sitting on his lap; she hardly seems to notice what he is doing. She is kissing him back just as hard, rubbing herself against him. Jesus this chick is begging to be rammed. He wonders if she'll leave with him tonight, if she'll let him bang her from behind as he grabs onto her luscious hips. She is clearly digging him, and he really wants to bury his cock inside her.

"You guys need to tone down the show," the bartender shouts across the counter at them.

"Well, fuck." He's pretty sure that another couple of minutes of that and he would have made her come just from dry humping. But now here she is looking all red faced and embarrassed, thanks to the cock blocking son of a whore bartender. He starts to feel uncomfortable beneath her hot behind, so he gently lifts her up and places her back on her own stool.

Then his fucking mobile rings. The ring tone– Panic at the Disco – tells him it's Kate. He looks up at the pretty girl next to him and says, "I'm sorry, I've got to answer this."

"Hello?" He doesn't even want to utter Kate's name, certainly doesn't want to let the girl next to him know that it's his ex-wife on the other end of the line.

"Edward, Leah's fallen over and hurt her ankle. Peter's working, and I can't get hold of him. I need you to come and look after Seth while I take her to the emergency room."

"Fuck, is she okay?"

"No, she's screaming her head off and I think she might have broken it. You really need to get here now." Kate's voice sounds harassed; a natural reaction of a mom to her child's pain.

"I'm about twenty minutes away." His tone is feeling pissed off, but worried too. It isn't a good combination for him — he knows that Kate thinks he's being a bitch.

"Well, just get here as soon as you can. I can't cope with both of them at the E.R. all night."

"Okay. I'll be there in twenty." He hangs up, already feeling regretful at his terse answers. He knows that Leah is a good kid. She wouldn't be crying if her ankle didn't really hurt. His children always come first, so why was he feeling fucked off that he wouldn't be taking this girl next to him anywhere tonight?

God, she's beautiful. He can't help but lean in to brush his lips against hers one last time. "I have to go. I'm so sorry." Fuck, he really is. He needs to see her again.

"This isn't over; can you be here this time next week?" He kisses her harder now, wanting to brand her so that no other loser approaches her tonight. "I need to see you again."

The relief he feels when he sees her nod is undeniable. His chest feels less constricted, like he can breathe more easily. He looks at her one last time and walks quickly to the exit, knowing that the faster he gets to Kate's house, the faster his baby will be looked after by the doctors. He gets into his car and then suddenly realizes how much easier it would have been to ask the girl for her phone number, or her name. He's such a dick; he hadn't even asked her for her details. She had him so worked up that even the social niceties were beyond him.

He gets in the car and drives to Kate's house, managing to exceed the speed limit all the way. He finds it hard to keep to it at the best of times, and this certainly wasn't the best of time in any shape or form. When he gets there, Kate lets him in and he finds Leah sitting on the couch with her leg elevated, a bag of frozen peas resting on her ankle.

"You okay baby?" He wraps his arms around his little girl, feeling her snuggle her head into his chest, her little body heaving softly with her gentle sobs. He hates when she gets hurt, she's always been his baby. Daddy's girl.

"It hurts," she sniffs, and he kisses the top of her head, holding her tighter.

"I know sweetheart. Mommy's going to take you to the hospital, and Seth and I will be right here waiting for you. It's going to be okay."

Kate comes back in then and indicates she's ready. Seth is fast asleep in his room upstairs, so Edward picks his little girl up and carries her out to Kate's car, gently placing her in the back seat and doing the seatbelt up around her small body. He kisses her again before they leave, breathing in her scent, the essence of his daughter.

Peter gets home from his shift at 4:00 AM, and they both drink a beer while they wait for news from the E.R. Edward really wants to dislike this douche who has taken his place not only with his wife, but his kids too. But Peter is really hard to hate; he's an affable, genuinely nice guy, and he treats Kate and the kids well, but never tries to take the role of dad. Edward tolerates him. Even though they would probably be friends in any other situation, he cannot find it in his heart to see him as anything other than the man who is sleeping with his ex-wife.

An exhausted Kate and Leah arrive home at 6:00 AM, having spent most of the night waiting to be seen. Leah tells him all about the doctors and nurses and x-ray machine before she lets him carry her up to bed. She's a big girl now, nearly nine years old, but he's reminded of when she was a baby and a toddler and he'd carry her up every night to bed and read her favorite stories to her. He feels a pang in his chest when he thinks that he'll never get those moments back; before he knows it she'll be a teenager and the last thing she'll want to do is hang out with her dad.

By 7:00 AM he makes it home and crawls into bed. His body is heavy with fatigue. A few years ago he would have thought nothing of staying out all night and missing out on his rest. But he's over thirty now and years of sleep deprivation from his babies has made it hard to go without his eight hours a night. He doesn't even bother to change out of his day clothes; he's way too exhausted for that. Kate has suggested that he just have the kids on Sunday, rather than for the whole weekend, and part of him is glad that he has the day ahead to catch up on his rest. Another part feels that he's missing out on time that he'll never be able to recapture; each day spent without his kids is like a bullet to his heart.

He closes his eyes and lets sleep drift over him. A fleeting image of the beautiful girl from the bar appears behind his sealed eyelids. A soft smile dances across his lips as he contemplates seeing her next week, and maybe finishing what they started tonight.


End file.
